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| Hello, that is one among our (nearly) every day tastings. Santé! |
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November 24, 2024
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The time for cognac is again at WF
Let’s see what we have now on the tasting desk as we speak… (solely nice ones I am certain)…
Balade des Pères Noël
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Bache Gabrielsen ‘Lot. 89’ (45.7%, OB, Grande Champagne, LMDW, single cask, cask #B-12, 70 bottles, 2024) 
We’ve tried just a few choices from Bache Gabrielsen, although we wouldn’t say we’re well-acquainted with the home. The standout reminiscence stays the exceptional ‘Le Sein de Dieu’ cuvée from 2015, which featured solely pre-phylloxera cognacs, together with one relationship again to 1790! (WF 91). This ‘Lot. 89’ was distilled a mere two centuries later, which feels moderately modern by comparability. Color: full gold. Nostril: splendidly energetic and shiny, brimming with kiwis, rhubarb, and redcurrants at first, earlier than ripe winery peaches and some sultanas be part of the fray. A beautiful freshness persists, progressively giving solution to notes of vanilla, crème brûlée, and a delicate contact of jasmine. Mouth: a pleasant bounty of fruit pastilles, underscored by a touch of white pepper. Pretty delicate liquorice, mirabelle jam, apricot protect, and even unique fruit compotes—maybe banana and pear? It’s jammy but ethereal, with excellent stability and a pure power that feels spot on. End: medium in size, with the return of liquorice and unique fruits, main into oranges and a faintly nostalgic nod to an previous bottle of Grand Marnier. Feedback: beautifully shiny, recent, and completely spot-on. What a splendid begin!
SGP:651 – 90 factors. |
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We at all times attempt to begin our classes gently. Properly, this time, that’s gone out the window.
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Ferme 1719 ‘Lot 88’ (50%, Genuine Spirits, Grande Champagne, 2024) 
Comprised of Ugni Blanc, and one other single cask. For readability, Ferme 1719 isn’t a home title however moderately a nod to a farm established in 1719. Now there’s a Cognac model known as ‘1719’, although whether or not there is a hyperlink right here is unclear. Color: amber. Nostril: it’s that energetic fruitiness once more, however this time leaning extra in the direction of ripe apples and pears, with a contact extra oomph and a particular rustic edge. Fairly farmy, because it had been. Frankly, I am keen on this model too. Pan-fried apricots and mirabelles be part of the fray. With water: hints of damp earth and dried flowers emerge. Mouth (neat): begins with a whisper of previous Calvados earlier than honey takes over, wrapped in a well-integrated, peppery woodiness. Fir honey more and more dominates, fantastically coating the palate. With water: splendidly ‘rural’ Cognac, it should be stated. End: lengthy, with a contact extra acidity lifting the tail finish of this attractive drop. Feedback: it nearly seems like tasting straight from the cask—are you aware that sensation?
SGP:651 – 88 factors. |
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Guillaume Duluc ‘Lot 87’ (50.1%, Genuine Spirits, Grande Champagne, 2024)
Crafted completely from Ugni Blanc, from a 40-hectare property in Touzac. Color: deep gold. Nostril: harking back to the Bache, with that energetic, fruit-forward stress that feels irresistibly inviting. Stewed rhubarb and winery peaches lead the cost, adopted by a fragile wisp of tobacco and nougat. Ferns and hints of wooden varnish add a refined complexity to this completely charming nostril. With water: magnificent, bringing out sesame and orange muffins alongside a medley of daring honeys—heather, linden, and chestnut. Mouth (neat): flawless. Honey, oranges, cinchona, bitter orange, dried figs, and a contact of nutmeg create a wealthy tapestry, with a playful sense that it’s flirting with Highland malt territory—and will simply outshine many in a blind tasting. Pleasant. With water: completely balanced, seamlessly weaving fruits, honeys, and delicate spices. Zero fault (if I could also be so informal). End: liquorice and resinous notes take the baton, with orange zest and honey lingering fantastically. Feedback: I’m smitten with these notes of ‘true’ honey. The worth right here is sort of laughable—although I believe it bought out in mere moments.
SGP:651 – 90 factors. |
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Cognac Grande Champagne ‘Lot 87’ (59.4%, Rhum Angle, 213 bottles)
As whisky aficionados proceed to flock in the direction of high quality Cognacs (leaving the generic stuff behind), it appears rum specialists at the moment are following go well with. An intriguing word right here: this cask was used to high up others, that means it was theoretically uncovered to extra oxygen. Fascinating—however curiously, the alcohol degree has hardly budged. Color: darkish gold. Nostril: splendidly rounded, with a honeyed richness and a fragile menthol edge. There’s additionally a healthy dose of maple syrup—fabulous—and roasted apricots drizzled with honey and a pinch of cinnamon. Irresistible, actually. It’s true, 35–40 years is usually the perfect age for such spirits. With water: delicate meaty undertones, maybe hen broth, including a tertiary layer of depth not present in others. Mouth (neat): intensely fruity, nearly harking back to an Yquem, earlier than peppery notes creep in and a nervy younger Sauvignon Blanc-like brightness arrives to carry construction. Flawless. With water: a contact of tannin now, alongside brown tobacco, black tea, and bitter chocolate—an evolution price savouring. End: the tannins and darker notes persist, however the fruit fights again admirably. Feedback: a fancy, jubilant previous Cognac that is aware of precisely tips on how to fan out its peacock’s tail, as they might say within the nation. I’d say it was bottled at simply the correct second.
SGP:651 – 90 factors. |
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The magnificent cognacs are lining up like pearls on a necklace as we speak. Good for Christmas ;-).
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Pasquet ‘Lot 85’ (52.3%, Poh! Spirits, Petite Champagne, 90 bottles, 2024)
Pasquet – naturally, that’s Jean-Luc Pasquet, the esteemed home. Are there different Pasquets crafting such splendid cognacs? Color: deep gold. Nostril: this time we’re veering extra in the direction of patisseries and baked delights – suppose walnut muffins, richly cooked jams, fruit tarts, Linzertorte, and absolutely ripened damsons. With water: I’m fairly taken by this contact of previous metals (copper cash, polished silverware) adopted by a whisper of smoke. Mouth (neat): it’s completely sinful, with a fleeting impression of agricole rum – dare I say Neisson? – earlier than transferring into Catalan cream piled excessive with honey-soaked baked plums and a handful of raisins. Hints of mint, a contact of liquorice, and a drizzle of heather honey carry additional intrigue. With water: sure, splendid – a dollop of quince jelly now joins the fray. End: moderately lengthy, staying light and on the rounder facet. Did we already point out an previous Sauternes as we speak? Feedback: good as soon as once more. Beware, this goes down like mom’s milk.
SGP: 651 – 90 factors. |
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What a catastrophe, it appears to me that we’re not going to handle to carry our scores down a lot as we speak…
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Vallein Tercinier ‘Lot 74’ (48.7%, OB, Grande Champagne, cask #0278, 571 bottles, 2024)
Color: deep gold. Nostril: completely beautiful, with an nearly surreal purity of super-ripe fruits—peach, melon, quince, mirabelle plum, and apricot. One may almost mistake it for a mix of eaux-de-vie from these fruits, aged collectively in wooden. Watch out for these peach stones, although—cyanide lurks inside, which distillers should deal with with care. However let’s not digress too far… The nostril is astoundingly exact, really stunning, with a fragile contact of miso that’s merely chic. Mouth: astonishing vivacity, brimming with natural teas, honeys, citrus, and raisins. Suppose chamomile and thyme, oak honeydew, blood oranges, golden sultanas, and tiny muscat grapes. A slight trace of pine bud provides a delicate spine, completely balancing the intense power of the entire. End: the oak steps ahead right here, as anticipated. Notes of espresso beans, darkish chocolate, black tea, marmalade, and a faint hint of aged white wine proper on the very finish. Feedback: magnificent, as anticipated. The oak is extra current within the end (and no, we’re not speaking about that mass-market ‘boisé’ flavouring, are we?). Let’s bear in mind this Cognac has possible spent 50 years in cask—or maybe 49. It doesn’t appear to have been saved in demijohns both.
SGP:651 – 91 factors. |
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One final one, we’ll head down in the direction of the Rolling Stones. In a fashion of talking…
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Jean-Luc Pasquet ‘L.70 Le Cognac d’Arlette’ (44.6%, OB, Trésors de Famille, Petite Champagne, 366 bottles)
Ah, 1970, wasn’t that the 12 months of Sticky Fingers? This magnificence hails from a household property in Lagarde-sur-le-Né, and one of many joys of those cognacs is the geography lesson they carry alongside—an intricate lacework of charming little villages and hamlets, brimming with pleasant people. Color: Full gold, radiant and welcoming. Nostril: we’re firmly within the realm of grasp woodworkers and spice retailers. Notes of gingerbread, crème de menthe, Turkish espresso, and spruce wooden (Christmas bushes, naturally) waft up first, alongside a contact of pitch, then creamy cappuccino and recent potting soil. After a couple of minutes, the fruits timidly emerge: quince and people tiny apples you’d discover in an historic orchard round Lagarde-sur-le-Né—properly, that’s in all probability pushing it a bit, however you get the concept. Mouth: right here the fruits take the lead, notably dried ones, although the seasoned woods, tobacco, and menthol are ever-present. Suppose Christmas cake, figs, raisins, baked apples flattened and dried within the previous Loire custom (pommes tapées), and marvellous dried apricots—the type that deserve a second of reverence. The stability between dried fruits and delicate spices is nothing in need of a masterclass. End: this superior cognac departs quietly, nearly imperceptibly, which could simply be a crafty ploy to coax you into pouring one other glass. Feedback: actually, there’s nothing to fault right here. The general concord is elegant, properly completed Arlette.
SGP: 651 – 91 factors. |
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It is unimaginable how the VT 74 and the JLP 70 are neck and neck when you have got each in entrance of you. One other Senna-Prost scenario, actually. So, be sure you haven’t got all the bottles in entrance of you—it could possibly be harmful. And simply to be clear, Whiskyfun will settle for completely no duty for any abruptly uncontrollable behaviour in your half, together with, however not restricted to, divorce.
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By the way in which, apologies for all of the maybe overly enthusiastic adjectives and adverbs as we speak, however we really had been amongst a few of the very most interesting cognacs.
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Good, subsequent Sunday, we’ll be sampling a tremendous choice of classic cognacs from earlier than 1970. Undecided the common rating will probably be as excessive as as we speak, however keep tuned!
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