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