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.

Navarre Cognac Vieille Reserve 45%

I could talk about the producer of this bottle, Jacky Navarre, and provide details on this post…but it’d just be a regurgitation from the importer’s website. See, this bottle was imported by PM Spirits and they are incredibly transparent about their bottlings (at least when NDAs don’t cripple the amount of information they can provide, I imagine).

PM Spirits is based in Brooklyn, NY, and I’d say they are arguably one of the most hipsteresque booze companies around (beyond being based in Brooklyn). I also say that in the most endearing sense – you can thank hipsters for some of the more amazing food, coffee, beer, art, and rock music triggering your senses these days.

I’ve read quite a bit about PM Spirits; there is definitely no dearth of coverage. A mere googling will cause you to stumble onto articles boasting about the owners, Nicolas Palazzi and Alexander Rainer, and their uncanny ability to sniff out unique and delicious booze across the globe. From my palate’s perspective, the articles are pretty accurate. I’ve tried a few offerings from PM Spirits and their preternatural ability of identifying unique and tasty booze was on full display with each bottle. I absolutely adored the Eric Bordelet 18 year calvados they imported (review incoming by the way) and thought the Palazzi cask strength rum was definitely worth snagging. My buddy who owns a snazzy wine shop just recently tried some Rochelt schnapps, also imported by PM Spirits and directly linked to Alexander Rainer's family, and he just gushed about how delicious it was. I know it's stupid expensive at around ~$250, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to try some.   

Like a lot of the cognac I've bought, the Navarre cognac was a impulse purchase. It’s a blend of 40-50 year old cognac, non-chill filtered, not colored, not boised…just raw, from-the-cask cognac (maybe a little water). It's only released every couple years and there is not a ton out there. So, how is it?

Nose: tropical fruits galore...Guava, papaya, mango, citrus, pineapple...some light flower petals, too

Palate: the tropical fruits and citrus translate but with kiwi, too...coconut milk, honeysuckle, and a little cocoa powder.

Finish: fantastically long and fruity, rich, delicious

Thoughts

When I first opened this bottle it was good but not nearly as good as it is now with probably 1/5th left. I remember it having some grassy and herbal notes, as well as being a little spicier and having some Indian cooking spice notes, like cumin. At that time I'd probably give it a B plus. But right now, this thing has evolved into a tropical fruit bomb that is on the level of the LMDW Voyer, and its drinking like an A. It's right up there with the 73/75 independent Speysiders that I adore...but 200 bucks cheaper.

So I'm going to split the difference and give it an official A minus, but, if this is any indication on whether I like this, I'll definitely be buying another bottle of the Navarre.

Grade: A minus

A few quick notes. Being a hipster company, PM Spirits is really good with their social media presence and I highly recommend checking out their Instagram. Also, if you care more about what's IN the bottle than whats on the label or the potential flip value, I'd say imports by PM Spirits are a  pretty safe bet. When I'm out combing liquor stores, I feel like I always stumble on something interesting from Palazzi. Every time I take a chance and buy one of his bottles, I end up feeling rewarded for the purchase just by opening the bottle.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58d56a21e3df28af90a2e37d/t/58fffe13e6f2e1ea1a2d007c/1493171736884/NAVARRE-VR-TECH.png

https://www.saveur.com/spirit-hunter-nicolas-palazzi

https://www.instagram.com/pmspirits/?hl=en