Ryan's Review
A couple things. First, Justin and I consider this blog a journal of sorts. A written document on our path to discover what brandy is both in taste and in production. It shouldn’t be a secret that we don’t consider ourselves experts. If you see a piece of information that is incorrect please let us know. We also don’t expect our notes to be taken as gospel. We occasionally will taste something expensive, and we may or may not love it. Hopefully if you choose to purchase it based on our review it’s because you’ve found your palate seems to agree with ours more often than not. In the end, we are just charting our own experiences in discovering what the world of brandy has to offer. Second, it is probably a bit obvious by now that Justin and I have similar tastes and cherry pick the brandies that we have tasted and reviewed on this page. We look for bottles, often from small production, family-run houses and producers who focus on letting the unadulterated spirit do the talking. Most of what we have tasted so far we have enjoyed to varying degrees, even if it might not be a repeat purchase or a “wow” spirit. We assign grades because it’s part of the shtick, and I suppose it does help categorize in my own mental library what my overall impressions of the spirit are. With grades in mind, let’s remember even the bottles that we grade a B are still fine spirits. Maybe it doesn’t fall right in our wheelhouse, maybe not a “run out and tell the masses” bottle, but still, we can recognize there is quality. So with all that said, here today is a bottle that was not cherry-picked. Instead, I found this bottle in a box in my basement collecting dust. I purchased it a couple years ago for a cooking recipe for no other reason than it was cheap. Cheap doesn’t always mean bad, though.
Some interesting details on the brand. St. Remy was formed in 1886 and is owned by the juggernaut company, Remy Cointreau. It is not actually a cognac, as the grapes are not grown in the Cognac region. Instead, the grapes that are used are coming from some other areas very popular for their vineyards, such as Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux, and Rhone Valley. So they refer to their end product as French Brandy, which is governed by the Federation of French Brandy.
St. Remy Authentic VSOP
40%
Nose: A very light nose, with some hints of sweet fruits.
Taste: Quite sugary up front with honey, grapes, and strawberries. It is a bright profile, and just a tad spirity.
Finish: Towards the finish is more light summer fruits and some spices. A hint of cocoa. It finishes with light menthol and oak.
Overall: This is a rather light brandy, and you get the sense that is exactly what they’re going for, both from the proof and also the overall blend. It is neither offensive nor complex, and the flavors come and go rather quickly. It is not an overly sweet presentation, however the sweetness it provides is simple and without much else to round it out and make it interesting. A good brandy perhaps to use in a cocktail or in cooking.
C+
