It amazes me how many small cognac houses are sprinkled throughout the French countryside. I think its one of the reasons why non-French consumers get lost – with so many options, where is a beginner to start? Sure, there are “best-of” and “top ten” and “must buy” lists, but those are about as reliable as the cable guy showing up on time. More often than not, I rely on my nerd friends as a tasting and recommendation crutch. Unfortunately, cognac, and especially small house cognac, is a relative wasteland when it comes to booze-nerd research (except in Scandinavia – those peeps know what’s up when it comes to cognac). So, we’re here to help nerds!
Here’s another review of a small house cognac with a very small footprint.
Jacques Denis is located in Grande Champagne. They produce a couple of bottlings, mostly geared towards generic, brand-centric marketing, with this 1994 single vintage sitting as an outlier among the rest of the pack. If you’ve read some of my other posts (or know your business when it comes to cognac), you’ll know that there are some extra hoops that come along with vintage dating a cognac (thanks to the BNIC). The fact that JD went the extra length to vintage date this tells me that 1994 must have been an exceptional harvest for them – I mean, it is the same year we got Coolio’s “Fantastic Voyage,” so it makes sense.
Nose: a nice bouquet of sweets and fruits pop, with caramel, pears, apples, a little tangerine, and Smarties (confectionery sugar candy)
Palate: the sweets and fruits fully translate to the palate along with some other notes, including green grape skins, light coffee (not dark and bitter but bright and fruity beans), sweet cream (think half-n-half), and roasted pecan.
Finish: Nice medium length that washes over the tongue and lingers for a nice
Thoughts: this is tasty and I have no regrets picking it up. The bottle itself wasn’t too expensive, either (around $125 pre-ship), but as its always the case, it’s the shipping from Europe that is hits below the belt. I think that the 1994 is unique enough where some people would really be into it. I’m a fan – not obsessive, buying every obscure Japanese-only release type of fan…I’d say that that I’m glad I bought a ticket to the concert.
Grade: Solid B+
Website: http://cognacjacquesdenis.com/page/propriete
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