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.

Copper & Kings “Phoenix Barrel” selected by MAWLS

Ryan's Review

Copper & Kings are an American brandy company out of Louisville, KY. They use traditional copper pot-distillation but take the purist route in terms of production.  Non-chill filtered. Unadulterated.  They don’t dilute in the barrel through maturation.  They age their grape brandy in a combination of new oak and ex-bourbon barrels.

Now with that said comes the phoenix project.  American brandy aged in 60 gallon barrels. The twist is how these barrels were treated.  C&K took 500 liter ex-sherry butts and aged grape and apple brandy in them for 16 months.  This wood was than used as firewood to toast and char the new American oak barrel staves that would be then used for aging their spirit along with ex-bourbon barrels.  An interesting experiment!

Copper & Kings “Phoenix Barrel” selected by MAWLS

6 years old, 65%

Nose: Thick sweetness on the nose. caramel, chocolate. It’s already hinting at some significant heat. Some nuttiness.
Taste:  This is thick and syrupy. Very sweet. Chocolate. Raisins. Some mint. Caramel.
Finish: It finishes quite hot and rough with a fair bit of oak.

I’ve heard others refer to this as a smoky brandy. But the smoke does not pop to me. What does pop is the thick sweetness. The flavor profile with the syrupy caramel and big oak finishes screams new oak to me.  This is American whiskey territory, but there are some brandy type notes that remind you what you’re drinking. The concentrated raisins in particular are very obvious. It is also hot, as both 130 proof and young spirits often are, but this is not that young at 6 years old, either.  I’ve certainly tasted some elegant French brandies at a similar age, and this swings in the other direction as a big, brutish, rough spirit packed with sweetness and flavor. It is after all an American brandy, not a European brandy, and as such, it is very much in the spirit of American whiskey.    To their credit, I think that’s what they’re going for.

Not the most complex pour and certainly not my preferred style, but as we often say about many craft producers, this does show promise.  There are some compelling flavors going on in this one with an intensity of oak and rich sweetness that is sure to attract American whiskey drinkers.

B-

Vallein-Tercinier Rue 71 Petite Champagne 47%

Ryan's Review

Oh look, another Vallein-Tercinier review.  This one is a 1971 Petite Champagne.  47% abv. 

Nose:  honey, fruit syrup, mint, cedar
Taste: Juicy. Berries. Strawberries, blueberries. Also citrus. Lime, oranges. There’s mint, eucalyptus. And then a wave of pineapple, mango, and some dark chocolate.
Finish: Like many VTs there is a freshness that comes through in the finish that is very nice. Along with the fruits there  is some oak here, but it's subtle, not drying.

It's a very lively cognac for its age. Juicy and fresh.  Different than some of the Grande Champagnes I’ve had from Vallein Tercinier which highlight a more perfumey and guava-centric profile.  Anyway, it’s not not excellent.

A-

Youtube Tour of Cognac

Distillerie Tessendier & Fils (Cognac Park) - some good cooperage footage



ABK6



General Distillation



Hine / Vintage Cellars

Commercial Cask Storage / Oreco



Guilhem Grosperrin Interview (negociant)



Grosperrin Negotiation

https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5067731,00.html

Cognac Barrel Production (dubbed with American Bajo music)



Old Timey Documentary (1970s) on Cognac Production

Lhearaud 1974/2005 31 Year Grande Champagne 49%

I stumbled on this bottle by pure chance. Apparently, it was lost in the distribution network and sat in a warehouse for 13 or so years before being found and shipped off to the shelf. It was priced lower than any other comparable Lherauds online so I pulled the trigger. I planned on taking it down to a bottle share event, so I cracked it early to let it breathe and open up a little. Of course I had to try it...just a nip. Two weeks later and the bottle is almost half gone. The bottle share is still a few weeks away and I honestly don’t know if I’ll be able to stop drinking this Lheraud until then…

Before the review, I want to address a unique aspect of Lheraud’s distillation process. General information about Lhearud was provided in previous reviews, but we left out that Lheraud distills “on the lees.” What does that mean? Well, essentially, when the distiller is crushing the grapes to extract the grape juice, if they distill on the lees, that means they extract some pulp along with the grape juice (no skin or sticks, though). There is a whole spectrum of extraction when it comes to lees, from extracting no lees (Martell), to some pulp or "fine lees" (Hennessy, Remy), to extracting heavy lees. According to Brandy Classics, distilling on the lees can be a touchy subject because there is a fear that cognac distilled on the lees, i.e. with pulp, is less pure than cognac distilled not on the lees, i.e. no pulp. The issue reminds me of the “non-chill filtered” debate in whisky circles revolving around purity and flavor.       

Anyways, with that out of the way, onto the review…

Lhearaud 1974/2005 31 Year Grande Champagne 49%

Nose: crème brulee, mint, toasted walnut, salt water taffy…some cherry and blueberry...It kind of smells somewhat like a good bottle of Madeira I recently put down, but more condensed

Palate: the crème brulee and toasted walnuts show up along with rice pudding, pecans, oolong tea, shitake mushrooms, coconut milk, and a little cake batter and mango tucked in there, too

Finish: long...the rich, decadent sweetness rests on the mid palate…whole experience tapers off slowly

Thoughts: this is a balanced beauty and I love every facet of the experience it provides. If we had to draw analogies to whisky, the 74 Lhearaud GC would be to cognac what 60s/early 70s Bowmore is to whisky. I’ve been targeting great cognac in my journey and been thoroughly impressed by what some of the small, independent houses have to offer. And considering all the great cognacs I’ve tried so far, this has to be up there as one of the best. The only improvement would be if the flavors were more concentrated.

Grade: A plus


Distilling on the lees:

https://www.brandyclassics.com/news/2018/02/2099/

Jean-Luc Pasquet Nostalgie 45.6% and Tres Vieille Reserve 44.2%

Not many brand ambassadors have a true personal stake in the product they endorse. If they are able to promote a brand and sell X amount of cases, cool…if not, maybe they get fired and move on to the next job. That is definitely not the case for Amy Pasquet. Coming from the “sticks” of North Carolina, she now resides in the “sticks” of France and is married to a Frenchman that just so happens to be the master distiller of Jean-Luc Pasquet Cognac…his name is Jean Pasquet – how coincidental! Unlike other brand ambassadors, if Amy doesn’t sell JLP Cognac, she doesn’t just get fired…she might end up in the “sticks” of some other country…kids and (unemployed) master distiller husband in tow.

I’ve been chatting with Amy and she’s been great. She’s really excited about her family’s brand beyond the marketing and believes that it is genuinely a good product. So, when Cognac Expert put a few of JLP’s high-end bottles on sale, I jumped on them.

Speaking of Cognac Expert, they recently wrote a nice informational piece on JLP Cognac, which is linked at the bottom of the page. The stripped-down version is that they are a family grower/producer house that owns the vineyards their cognac is produced from. Jean's father, named Jean-Luc, bottled the first JLP back in 1977. In the early 90s, there were some issues with the vineyards so they converted to organic agriculture methods. I am not sure what that exactly entails or if it really makes a difference in the flavor profile, but there is apparently a certification for it called “Agricultural Biologique,” which JLP obtained in 1998.

The two bottles I’m reviewing are the Nostalgie and the Tres Vieille Reserve 44.2%. The Nostalgie is a blend of multiple casks, distilled from 1991 until 2000. The TVR is the oldest cognac in the JLP range and is comprised of ~45 year old cognacs.

Nostalgie 45.6%

Nose: it starts with peach, honeydew, and green melon…then candied pecans and white chocolate…dried tobacco leaf, and rose petals

Palate: somewhat fat body, its more rich than fruity, with molasses and caramel hitting up front, then dates, brown sugar, cumin, and candied pecans (just like the nose), and a little cherry liqueur 

Finish: a nice medium long finish that really grabs the side of the palate

Grade: A minus

Tres Vieille Reserve 44.2%

Nose: tropical fruits and herbs, like mint, sage, and clove…daffodils, too

Palate: creamy texture, this one is straight floral and fruity. It starts somewhat tropical with guava and papaya, with some minerally citrus (think Flintstone vitamins), and then shifts quickly to a nice floral sweetness, like violet and honeysuckle. There is also some wafer hidden in there.

Finish: thick and lingers, the finish is really great with this one.

Grade: A minus

Thoughts: These are incredibly different cognacs. Nostalgie reminds me of the K&L Maison Park 18 Year Old "Lot 18 Borderies (my favorite out of the K&L Maison Park picks), and it does everything that one does but better. The TVR is a really good, well-aged Grande Champagne cognac that hits on the fruits and flower notes. I liked them both quite a bit, and its hard to pick a winner. I don’t think one is better than the other quality wise. Based on my personal preference, I liked the Nostalgie a little bit more, but that’s just because I am really digging rich, decadent profiles right now as opposed to more fruity, floral profiles. These bottles were just opened, so I’m sure they will develop with air.

Good job Jean and Amy! 

https://blog.cognac-expert.com/jean-luc-pasquet-cognac/

Camus 1973 – Through the Grapevine LMDW 42.9%

One big turnoff for whisk(e)y geeks when it comes to cognac, and brandy in general, is its propensity to be bottled at low proof/abv. There is a pervasive feeling within the whiskey community that “if it ain’t cask strength, it ain’t worth drinking.” I have plenty of friends that think cask strength booze is sacrosanct, and I suspect that’s why a lot of geeks gloss over cognac – cognac tends to be bottled at low proof. Yet, one aspect I think a lot of whiskey geeks overlook about cognac is that the aging process (many years, humid cellars) lends itself to creating a low proof spirit. And in many instances, if water is added, its added slowly over years, which is more akin to a low barrel entry proof as opposed to dilution at bottling. Exploring cognac, I’ve tasted plenty of weak, low proof cognacs that just didn’t impress. But, I’ve also tasted some amazing low proof spirits that just burst with flavor…This Camus falls in the latter category.

Bottled through LMDW’s cognac line, this 1973 Camus is from the Bons Bois region. Its either cask strength or water was added slowly over the years. I suspect it's likely cask strength given there were only two hundred bottles and it is a single cask (and and true vintage dated for that matter). It’s rich and great, just check out the notes below… 

Nose: Martinelli's apple juice and white grape juice, cotton candy, brown sugar, grapefruit, some floral notes, too

Palate: pears, flower petals, creamy citrus (orange Julius?) and bitter orange rind…moss, too

Finish: medium length with a light lavender and citrus bitterness slowly fading.

Thoughts
This is good. Low proof be damned, and I think anyone who appreciates good booze SHOULD like this. Don’t be afraid – it punches above its weight.

Grade: A minus

Side note: it looks like the Grapevine line is going to touchdown in the USA (thanks to the new Velier/LMDW venture), and they have real interesting lineup coming. I'm really looking forward to trying them!