Bourgoin Cognac Brut de Frut 22 Year 55.3%

Here’s a quick review of a brandy from Bourgoin Cognac, a small grower/producer located in the Fins Bois region (at least from what I can tell looking at the AOC map). BC definitely caters to the whisky crowd by producing untainted, un-boised, un-sugared brandy. Their website even says “save whisky, drink Bourgoin Cognac.” At least they have a target market in mind. This review is of one of their cask strength offerings and can be found in some spots in the USA (mostly the left and right coasts).

On to the review (from a sample from a friend)...

N: a little new make’ish, like cedar, and also pears, dried mango, lychee, and no. 2 pencil.

P: the pears really pop, some light tropical fruits, almond slices (like the ones on a summer salad)...a little heat but its not too hot.

F: the pears and mango ride a wave of gentle heat until it’s gone.

Notes: this is a bright, fruity cognac...a summer brandy if you will. And I like that Bourgoin isn’t messing around with what goes into the bottle outside of the actual distillate. With that said, this one was dumped a little too soon despite 22 years in oak - it tasted young. And the pricing is pretty high (over 100 for a 375ml in some places). Overall, this teetered on the B / B+ line, but I can’t ignore the subtle heat (and pricing here in the States).

Grade: B

https://bourgoincognac.com/

Vallein Tercinier Lot 89 Fins Bois for Maltbarn 51%

I’m excited that indie bottlers are looking more and more to cognac. Indie bottlers really pushed the envelope for scotch and they could do the same thing with cognac (if they take the right approach). Maltbarn is a great indie scotch bottler so it was nice to see them pick a VT.

Here are my notes...

Nose: caramel, candy apple, canned peaches, honeydew, and rice pudding

Palate: peaches and apricots...this is really fruity...plenty of vanilla, walnuts, and caramel...some light orange liqueur notes in the background

Finish: great length, has plenty of staying power

Thoughts: this was a great selection - I definitely wouldn’t mind having a few of these in the bunker. The flavors are well integrated and there is no astringency. It’s sold out now, unfortunately, but I bet VT is sitting on plenty of casks like this - seldom do they disappoint.

Grade: A minus

Remi Landier Heritage (first edition) 43%

Ryan, god bless his soul, ponied up $240 to snag this bottle, and I’m thankful he shared.

Remi Landier, which is a grower / producer located in the Fins Bois region, has released two versions of the Heritage, the first version being bottled at 43% and the second version (called the “Coupe No. 2”) was bottled at 45%. The Heritage (both bottles) contain some of the oldest cognacs produced by Remi Landier, which started distilling in the early 1970s. The Heritage is a blend of Fins Bois and Grande Champagne grapes.

Serge reviewed the Coupe No. 2 and gave it an admirable 90 points.

Here are my thoughts on the first iteration of the Heritage:

Nose: pears, buttercream, fig, slightly floral with some tangerine rind

Palate: orchard fruits and sweet cream flavors...butterscotch, mocha, toasted almond and honeysuckle,

Finish: really nice length for 43% and the creamy flavors really hang onto the mid palate for a while.

Thoughts: this is lovely brandy and I'd love to snag a bottle, but at its current price, the sticker shock alone is enough to prevent me from acquiring one of these, unfortunately.

Grade: an easy A minus

UPDATE: The new Coupe N.2 is $500sh which seems a bit steep.

Four Different Vallein-Terciniers and a Little Waxing on Terroir

When I first started exploring cognac, I thought terroir was nothing more than marketing – something brand ambassadors and salesman/saleswomen tied to a particular brandy to credit uniqueness. Among all the differences between the producers, I felt that soil was the weakest case to be made for individuality. You mean to tell me Ungi Blanc, Folle Blanche, or Colombard grapes grown 30 miles down the road really produce a vastly different cognac? I get it with wine and understand terroir is sacred, but when you strip wine down to its bare bones (i.e. through distillation), how much character can remain?

Remember, I coming from a whisky nerd’s perspective and there is little if any talk about terroir when it comes to malted barely or corn. At most, there is a smattering of GMO vs. Non-GMO that enters the discourse…maybe some regionalism when it comes to superior growing regions (like Minnesota and their wintergreeny rye) or where a particular barely was malted (floor malted or bought from Port Ellen Maltings)…I guess the case could be made for mashbills, but no one cares about the source of the grain in the mash; its all about the %s.  I think comparatively, terroir is probably the least discussed topic with whisky nerds when it comes to impact on flavor.

Well, this on-the-road hotel tasting is nice little terroir Battle Royal! 4 different cognacs, all over 40 years old, all cask strength (or maybe a little water added), all NCF/uncolored/un-boised, distilled at the same distillery (Vallein-Tercinier) from grapes from 3 different regions. I don’t know what the grapes are so that could be the X-factor.

Lot 64 Grande Champagne 42.5%
Nose: Tropical and canned fruits (like canned peaches and apricots),
Palate: Juicy, juicy fruit…its creamy, too…some orange rind, and little herbal with Arizona green tea and tarragon
Finish: long for the low proof, where the citrus just loiters
Grade: A

Rue 71 Petite Champagne 47%
Nose: Nutty with pecans and walnuts, nutmeg and brown sugar
Palate: Brown sugar, dusty orange liquer (tax stripped Contreau), tanned leather, and a little roasty (think tobacco)
Finish: Brown sugar and tobacco hang-tight
Grade: A Minus

Rue 75 Fins Bois 47%
Nose: Caramel apple, tangerine and blood orange (only because I had one the other day and its easy to recall), and a little bubble gum (not the cheap stuff)
Palate: Molasses, raisons, dates, and some earthy qualities like chamomile and mushrooms…a tad nutty, too
Finish: rich and dense, real nice length
Grade: A / A Minus (like an A half minus, if that’s a thing???)

Lot 66 Petite Champagne
Nose: Fruity and floral, rose petals and some old cracker barrel rock candy
Palate: Floral and earthy, there is some light bitter citrus, too…but the flowers dominate and I’m not in love with this one at all
Finish: Bitter and floral
Grade: B Minus

Thoughts
I’ll own-up when I’m wrong, and I’m starting to think my gut was wrong when it came to terroir. Even prior to running through these samples, I’ve been picking up on terroir and distinct flavors between the different growing regions. Not to say its completely determinative, but I’ve been noticing terroir definitely plays a role in the final character of a particular spirit, and this tasting just further evidences that. And as always, VT kills it on the quality front with the exception of the Lot 66 – that guy is just not in my wheelhouse. If I had to rank, I’d go Lot 64 > Rue 75 > Rue 71 > Lot 66. I think Ryan has the Rue 75 and Rue 71 flipped, but hey, that’s different palates for yah.

Vallein Tercinier Tres Vieux Fins Bois 46%

Vallein Tercinier Tres Vieux Fins Bois 46%

Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. With work, a kid, and everything else in between, it’s been hard to take the time to put notes down on paper. Also, you can chalk some of it up to fatigue…or laziness, depending on what you think of me. I've got a few posts in the pipeline, so stay tuned! Anyways, this review is of the VT Tres Vieux Fins Bois. We’ve covered VT a tad in other posts but I eventually plan on doing a more detailed post in the future. In the meantime, here's a "Plain Jane" review. This bottle is a composition of two casks, a 1938 and a 1941. Pretty amazing that this only runs around ~250/300sh. It’s bottled at a responsible but unchallenging 46%. Here’s what I think:

Nose: guava, papaya, daffodils, nutmeg, and cocoa powder

Palate: citrus and citrus rind, tropical fruits, pink grapefruit, a light herbal character, too, like basil or thyme…A little floral, too, and finally some raw almond skin (like a drying bitterness)

Finish: medium length, the citrus bitterness lingers (which I love)

Thoughts:
I really love this bottle, and VT overall. They are one of my favorite cognac producers and deserve much more mainstream street cred than they currently get. This is an easy A minus and I personally bought 3 of these.

Grade: A Minus

A quick side discussion: talking with Ryan, there is one small flaw we’ve noticed with VT. Ryan has had the VT Fins Bois open for about ~8 months and was recently sharing it with friends. It had been a while since he tasted it, and when he poured it, the flavors didn’t quite pop like they did when it was first opened. He opened a VT Lot 65 that night to compare and he said it gushed with tropical fruits and crushed the VT Fins Bois. There might be an issue with VT and extended oxygen exposure. In a a side-by-side tasting with a freshly cracked VT Fins Bois and Lot 65, we both slightly preferred the Fins Bois.

I also want to mention that the first VT Lot 65 I opened lost some of its vibrancy towards the end of the bottle (with probably 1/8th left and around 6 months of O2 exposure). I didn’t notice flavor degradation with the second VT Lot 65 I opened because I drank it quickly over a couple of months (so crushable and delicious). Someone else in a cognac enthusiast group pointed out an O2 exposure issue in another VT bottling.

I am in no way discouraging you from buying VT. They bottle some of the best cognac out there. On top of that, there is no way to tell if this happens to all of their bottlings or just a few (maybe the addition of water plays a role?). I’ve gone through a lot of bottles that have lost some vibrancy with extended O2 exposure, and others that have taken over a year to open up – it’s a crap shoot as to what is going to happen. At no time has a VT bottle broken bad on me and tasted bad, and they are absolutely delicious upon opening and remain that way for months.

I’m addressing this potential issue because I’m a nerd and also wanted to let you know that if you plan on opening a bottle of the VT Fins Bois, you might want to plan on finishing it within a 6 month window – given how delish it is, it’s not a difficult task.

Remi Landier LMDW Lot 2005 45.9%

Remi Landier LMDW Lot 2005 45.9%

This Remi is offered by La Maison Du Whisky in the “Through the Grapevine” line. The Lot 2005 hails from the Fins Bois region and this sample is from a generous friend.

Nose: Martinelli’s apple juice mixed with lemon Lysol, a little fall hay and white grapes

Palate: similar profile to the LMDW Lot 87 but fades a lot quicker. Tropical fruits and caramel hop on and then right back off, with a lingering alcoholic astringency – it’s not overpowering but you notice it. There is definitely a nice mouthfeel on this, showing Remi makes a quality distillate. I also get a little anise and licorice.

Finish: Like I said above, the flavor jumps onto the palate fast but then jumps right back off. Some caramel hangs on for a little while.

Thoughts
This is not bad by any measure. It’s a young and the youth shows, but still definitely drinkable. That said, the Lot 87 kind of crushes it. This is something I’d describe as an everyday pour but for the alcohol astringency and the price. So, I’m giving this an…

Grade: B minus

Camus Pionneau 1969 56.4% Fins Bois

Some bottles get a little extra finesse from marketing departments – the diva treatment so to speak. I’ve seen boxes constructed from fine hobby wood, labels printed on bonded paper, emblematic scripting, leather-bound companion books, and so on...The stories for these bottlings tend to be a little over-the-top as well; the writers pull out all the stops with their magniloquent descriptions – and even use words like magniloquent – what the fuck does that word even mean? A lot of these bottles are destined to be advertised in elite travel magazines anyways, so might as well go all in with the sales gimmicks. 

I get the feeling that the Camus Pionneau 1969 is one of those bottles that got special attention from the marketing gurus. The box is very eloquent and is equipped with a cage on the front, which gives the buyer the sense that they are not merely opening a box containing cognac but rather unleashing a cognac upon the world – the packaging is awash with symbolism! The bottle also comes with a beautiful little book that details the origins of the Pionneau family as well as their history and expertise in distilling cognac. 

Camus released the following marketing blurb for the Pionneau 1969:

“Pionneau 1969 has been introduced by the Camus family. It is the prime vintage cognac and will be available across the globe. It is totally unblended made from grapes form a vineyard, which is one of its kind, located in Fins Bois vine growing areas. It was produced as well as distilled only by the Pionneau Company. It takes 35 years to age. Camus took charge of the company in 1969 on the understanding that no alterations would be made in producing the finest exceptional cognacs and in the name of the original company. It heady spicy aroma is blended with tangs from candy, plum and blackcurrant.”

Once you hack away at all of the marketing overgrowth, the question that we all want answered is whether it’s good? And more importantly, is it worth the price of admission (when first released, it was around $600 USD and it sells for a hell of a lot more now, apparently).

Here are my notes (please ignore the plasticware)…

Nose: like walking into a Cold Stone Creamery – ice cream and fixins’ – caramel, vanilla, candy…black plums, too…this has a little bit of a William Larue Weller nose to it (I was drinking the 2017 the other night and they smell similar).

Palate: sugared raisins, dates, black plums, honey, roasted almonds…rich in character. Some cocoa and maple syrup too. This is a savory cognac, not as fruity as a lot of other high-end cognacs I’ve tried, and there is definitely some alcohol heat in the glass.

Finish: the rich and oily character hangs on for a while, with a little alcohol burn that slowly tapers off.


Since I’ve gotten to know this bottle well, I know that it needs a drop or two of water to really shine. So, with water…

Nose: like above, but more aroma jumps out of the glass. The sweet cream really pops, and there are new notes of freshly churned butter as well.

Palate: the bite completely dissipates and the nuttiness shines. There are walnuts (is that you, rancio???) and pecans now. This tastes like a killer madeira I’m working my way through (thanks Greg Bird for the madeira recs).

Finish: without the alcohol bite the fantastic nuttiness just lingers. Man, this is a killer finish.


Thoughts

This cognac needs water. Without it, there is a mirage of quality, but when just a drop or two are added, it blossoms into something magical. Don’t expect a fruit forward cognac, either; while there are plenty of fruit notes, it’s the savory kind that show up to the party…the sweet ones decided to stay home and Netflix-and-chill.

With that in mind, I love this cognac and I’d say it’s really good. So that begs the question – is it worth the price of admission? That’s subjective and always hard to say for other people. Honestly, I think no bottle of booze is worth $600+. I also drive a 5 year old Subaru and check my bank balance several times a day. But, I had luck in the past hunting old bourbon. By massaging the spirits secondary, I was able to cobble together enough funds to snag two bottles of this (my goal in life is to have this hobby pay for itself). What I will say is that this is really good and unique, and I'm glad I have a backup bottle in the bunker. I’ll leave it at that.

Grades

Without water: B+ / A -

With a splash water: A   

Cognac Park – K&L Selections

K&L recently brought in 3 different Cognac Park barrel picks:

Park 15 Year Old "Lot 15" K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #289 Cask Strength Fins Bois Cognac 42.5%

Park 18 Year Old "Lot 18 - K&L Exclusive" Single Barrel #332 Cask Strength Borderies Cognac 43.5%

Park 28 Year Old "Lot 28" K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #401 Cask Strength Grand Champagne Cognac 44.5%

The Binny’s Maison Park / Cognac Park Borderies 10 year was a solid pour, especially for the price, so I was pretty excited when I saw these pop up on the K&L website. Unfortunately, K&L doesn’t ship anymore. Fortunately, I have a few friends, and even more fortunately, they wanted to try these as well and we all went in on a bottle split. As a control, I started with the Binny’s Maison Park Borderies. Here’s what I think of the K&L bottles:

Lot 15 – Fins Bois – 42.5%

Nose: Caramel, honeysuckle, old leather, eucalyptus, a tiny bit of acetone (not bad though)

Palate: the palate on this one is light, apple, a touch of cinnamon, cedar, rock candy, jasmine, Christmas spices.

Finish: short to medium length, the palate just fades with nothing new

Grade: B-

Lot 18 – Borderies Cognac – 43.5%

Nose: richer than the Lot 15, cocoa powder, nutty, coffee beans, clay

Palate: richer than the Lot 15, too, brown sugar and molasses, sweet tobacco, fried banana, a bit of an earthy character in line with the clay note, I’d say slate

Finish: nice length with cocoa and molasses hitting fading off slowly

Grade: B+

Lot 28 – Grand Champagne – 44.5%

Nose: fruity and sweeter than the other two, citrus, grapefruit, rose petals,

Palate: plenty of fruit, citrus, clementine’s, and red grapes, orange rind, fall hay, some demerara sugar, too

Finish: nice medium length

Grade: B+


Thoughts

I dig the Lot 18 and the Lot 28 – they are tasty bottles. But at the same time, these aren't going to wow anyone (in my opinion, anyways). The K&L notes makes it sound like they tried these at true cask strength. If these were higher proof, they would really shine. If I had to pick a favorite, it’d be a Lot 18, but if you’re more partial to fruity flavors, you might want to grab the Lot 28. Given the price, why not both? If it helps to know where I stand, I might buy an entire bottle of the Lot 18 and Lot 28, but don't plan on buying multiples.

Lheraud 1966 Fins Bois 48%

Lheraud was a level-up cognac for me. I first started getting my feet wet in brandy with what I could find at Binnys and K&L (back when K&L shipped and Driscoll was hyping Armagnac with wrestling vignettes…you know, before Armagnac was cool). And then I started ordering from overseas…nothing extravagant at first, mostly $100sh European releases and Master of Malt samples. But when I realized I was kind of into brandy, I said screw it and bought two $500 bottles. I was clueless about the brands and they had no online profile whatsoever (aside from maybe a meaningless Wine Spectator review). Essentially no reviews, no ratings, no notes…just straight blind buys. This 1966 Fins Bois Lheraud is one of those two blind bottle purchases.

Ryan previously provided some information on Lheraud so I’ll just add a few extra relevant points. Lheraud is located in Petite Champagne and they are a grower / producer. They have vineyards in different regions within the cognac AOC and they also produce Armagnac. One thing I love about Lheraud is that they are purists and do not add color, boise, or sugar to their bottlings (at least the vintage bottles). You can see the absence of artificial coloring in this bottle because it’s nicely bronzed but not suspiciously dark.

Onto the review. Never mind the plastic cup...

Lheraud 1966 Fins Bois 48%

Nose: orange blossom, lemon, metallic-y (like iron), baking spices and little caramel in the background

Palate: fruits dominate the front wave, like passion fruit, mango, and pears, then there is a shift to cloves, leather, and tannins, but it’s not too woody. There are more flavors here than I can identify and definitely (maybe) some rancio (a topic that is fodder for another post - I really have no idea what rancio is)?

Finish: a nice warming length that never gets boring or hot, and a note of citrus pops as it fades away.

Thoughts:

Lheraud makes killer cognac. I’ve tried a few bottles and the worst of them was still really good. This bottle is fantastic. The price is intimidating but what’s in the bottle is persuasive if not completely convincing. Buy Lheraud with the of confidence knowing that it likely won’t suck.

Grade: A

Some more info on Lheraud:

https://www.wilsondaniels.com/winery/cognac-lheraud/

http://www.cognac-lheraud.com/index.php

Remi Landier "Lot 87" Fins Bois

Ryan's Review

Remi Landier
Lot 87
Fins Bois
55%
Through The Grapvine (LMDW)

Remi Landier. Another small house, with a small range of offerings, and relative youngsters in the cognac community.  Their land, Domaine De Cors, resides in the Fins Bois region and saw its first vines planted back in 1890. In 1973 the family began producing cognac under the Remi Landier label. They grow grapes on 110 hectares of vines and produce and bottle cognac for several ranges. The Classic range is younger affordable entry cognac, while the Artisinal range is well-aged, quite limited, and quite expensive. Most of their cognac is obviously colored, with the exception of their "Special Pale" range, which states on their website "unchillfiltered, uncoloured, no sugar added".  Does the absence of that statement for the other bottles suggest that their Classic and Artisanal ranges suffer from chill-filtering and added sugars? With that said, here we have a privately bottled Remi Landier by La Maison Du Whisky for their Through The Grapevine label, which is exclusively single cask and small batch cognacs. It's bottled at 55% and labeled as Lot 87, which in cognac-speak suggests it is a 1987 vintage. So we are looking at a 29 year old cognac at cask strength. No official word on whether this is unadulterated cognac, but let's just focus on how it tastes.

Nose: Lots of sweet caramel and pineapple up front. Some fresh herbs, perhaps eucalyptus. Some of that great polished oak you only get in a well aged spirit.
Taste: A sweet lush entry with tropical and citrus fruits. Mostly mango, pineapple syrup, maybe some guava, very juicy... also caramel, tobacco, milk chocolate. A thick mouthfeel.
Finish: Finishes on vanilla oak, fresh eucalyptus, some herbal bitters, and warming spices. The fruit still comes through under all of that.

It's no pushover at 55% and yet it's easy to drink.  Abundant in tropical fruits and caramel and chocolate.  A complex finish that shows off its age, with some warming oak spices and gentle herbal notes, but nowhere close to being old or tired. This could be found for $115 when it was still available. An excellent 29 year old cognac at an excellent price point.  Perhaps we should try one of their Special Pale's next time.

A-