Vallein Tercinier “Lot 70” Petite Champagne 52% for Flask, T5C, and Ryan

I’m going to preface this review with saying that I helped set up this pick and I’m inherently biased. Instead of giving it a grade, I'll just say that it’s a great cognac and I wouldn’t be upset if I bought one at retail (Flask has some available).

On to the review…

Vallein Tercinier is a grower / producer and their business goes all the back to the 1850s with George Vallein, who created and sold cognac blends. The family and company history is outlined on their website (link below) and worth a read. Today, Robert Tercinier handles the production side of cognac production and Catherine Roudier-Tercinier along with her husband, Stephane Roudier, handle the commercial side of the brand. Vallein Tercinier is located in Grande Champagne but produces cognac from other regions and I suspect they source some of the grapes from various vineyards (however they may own vineyards in different regions, too).

Unfortunately, the United States is limited when it comes to unadulterated, cask strength cognac. When I reached out to Stephane from Vallein Tercinier, I was ecstatic when he agreed to work with us. Stephane sent us several delicious samples and the Lot 70 was a clear standout (I will say the Lot 90 was pretty fantastic, too). While Vallein Tercinier uses the term “Lot,” it really refers to the vintage year (see my “Vintage” blog post), so the Lot 70 was distilled in 1970. Let that sink in…this is a 48 year cognac. Incredible. The Lot 70 is unchill-filtered, uncolored, and unadulterated. Pure, raw, 48 year old cognac...

Nose: brown sugar, apricots, and oak, oh my…some cigar box, too.

Palate: milk chocolate, tea and dried tobacco leaves wash over the palate, then I get apricots, blackberries, under-ripe raspberries, flower stems, walnut oil and some light trop fruit notes…some oak but far from over-oaked.

Finish: nice length with the fruit notes slowly tapering off last.

Thoughts
I love this – it’s a conversion cognac for spirits geeks who have always shunned or ignored brandy. I think if we saw more cognac like this in the States, its popularity would explode. The bottle has definitely evolved with a little airtime and I look forward to seeing where it takes me.           

https://www.cognac-tercinier.com/en/domaine-des-forges-en/500-years-of-history