“Mars” Domaine de Pouchegu for K&L Wines 49.6%

I’ve heard a few people say we are in a “golden age” for brandy. I don’t disagree. There are amazing bottles of cognac and armagnac that you can purchase right now without breaking the bank. It takes a little leg work, research, and an open mind with an equally open palate to figure out what brands to explore. But if you are making the effort today, I think you’ll be able to reflect on your exploration and purchases with a smile.

Yet, while we may be in a golden age, I don’t think we are in a brandy “renaissance.” Small houses - the places that have produced the best brandy I’ve consumed over the last year - are thinning. I fear that the the slowly changing landscape will chip away at the elements which currently make brandy the best pound-for-pound spirit on the market (rum and mezcal are not far behind). The increase in contract distilling due to big-house demand...the consolidation of vineyards...the cellar clearing and blending of liquid antiquities by big-houses...the end of legacy distillers...it's all part of a death by a thousand tiny cuts. I wonder if parallels can be drawn to other spirits? Hmmm...

Anyways, this review is of a bottle that potentially screams “golden age brandy” at you, the “Mars” Domaine de Pouchegu for K&L Wines. Domaine de Pouchegu is a small house armagnac producer. The details of this bottle are provided on the K&L site, which is linked below; David OG has a very nice and informative write-up. Unfortunately, the distiller, Pierre Laporte, passed away in 2013. One thing to note about this bottle is that the spirit, which is a distinguished 38 years old, was aged entirely in new oak.

Onto the review...

Nose: graham cracker, Hershey chocolate, rose petals, a hint of gourmet black licorice, and oak...a lot of oak.

Palate: dark, rich, and dense...this is a flavorful spirit. Oaky flavors and tannins jump right out, and behind the woody veil are a bunch of other tasty notes like blood orange, rum raisin, vanilla, coffee creamer, and a ton of other nuanced things I’m probably missing.

Finish: it has a real nice length and depth - it doesn’t last forever but it doesn’t leave after the first act, either...I'll say its medium-long???

Thoughts: I want to reiterate this is dark, rich, and dense (that could be a title to an Ohio Players song, I dunno). A word of caution here: you better be a woodchuck if you plan on snagging a bottle of this. The oak is very in-your-face. With that said, if you like chewing on toothpicks (I do), you might really like this bottle. I’m not oak-sensitive if that helps with interpreting this review. I primed the palate with the Lincoln Road L’Encantada “Le Freche” (A minus grade), and side-by-side, I slightly prefer the Mars - it’s richer, a tad more concentrated, and feels more mature. With that said, I don’t think the Mars deserves a better grade than the Le Freche. Instead, I’m giving the Mars the same grade. I guess all “A minuses” are not the same, which incidentally is something I learned while working as a teaching assistant in college. 

Grade: A minus

Link: https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1390663

Jean-Luc Pasquet L'Esprit de Famille "Le Cognac de Bernadette" 44.8%

Following up from the earlier JLP “Jean” review, here is a review of the “Bernadette,” the other fall special release by JLP. Below is the story on the Bernadette:

“Le Cognac de Bernadette

In 1974, Bernadette Grimaud took over her father’s Bouteville, Grande Champagne vineyards.This bottle contains 500 milliners of a barrel of the eaux-de-vie that she distilled from her very first grape harvest that same year. At the time, she worked 15 hectares of Ugni Blanc vines. During her career as a wine-grower and distiller she went on to add three more hectares to the vineyards she inherited from her father, Gabriel, who, likewise, had followed in his own father’s footsteps.

Pierre Grimaud, Bernadette’s grandfather, had come to the Charente from the neighboring Deux-Sèvres department with his four brothers, in order to repopulate the Cognac region after the Phylloxera crisis forced many farmers off their land. In addition to tending his livestock, Pierre decided to replant grafted vines. The vineyards flourished and when Gabriel, Pierre’s son and Bernadette’s father, took the reins of the family business, he installed a pot still shortly after World War II. The 15 hectoliter still, modern for the time thanks to the auger system supplying the charcoal pellets to burn, is the one Bernadette used her entire career. Having no heir, she turned to a young Bouteville wine-grower to pick up where she left off.

Bernadette was a pioneer for women in cognac. Her mark remains in the finesse of the flavors contained in this bottle. The result of a manual harvest, native-yeast fermentation, small-pot still distillation, and maturation in a single cask until 2018, this cognac is remarkably elegant.”

Another great story and one thing of particular worth noting: this was distilled by a woman. The spirits industry tends to be a bit masculine and dominated by men seizing their family heritage and following their grandpappies traditions of making booze...seldom do we hear about a daughter taking over the means of production from her father. The gender landscape in spirits is definitely changing and women the likes of Rachel Barrie and Marianne Barnes are taking the helm of production at well known distilleries. But the keyword in the previous sentence is “changing.” Historically, there are not many stories about women being involved in the production process of spirits. That’s not the case with the the JLP Bernadette, which from my perspective makes this bottle pretty remarkable.

Lets put ‘Ole Bernadette's first swing at distillation under the microscope and see if she retained what she learned from her father…

Nose: sweet sugar candies jump out right away, including Smarties and Pixie Sticks...a bunch of citrus fruits including tangerines and grapefruits...nectarines show up, too...then there are some sweet floral qualities, too, like lilacs and honeysuckle...some muted blueberry underneath all of that.

Palate: it starts with less-citrusy citrus fruits, such mandarins...then melons (honeydew), nectarines, orange liqueur, vanilla, and a final rich, tannic-earthy thing I can’t put my finger on (horse saddle?)...It’s not too tanic or woody though, not at all, and the overall spirit is incredibly balanced and bright...the alcohol is almost non-existent, but that doesn't mean there is a lack of flavor - this is a great, complex spirit...it's something I can just let sit on the tongue and slowly drip into the back of my throat while the waves of flavor just keep crashing over my palate.

Finish: it just goes, and goes, and goes...still going....it ends with a nice bitter citrus note.

Thoughts: I love this bottle. I bought 4 more and might still need to get one or two more. It reminds me of the VT Tres Vieux Fins Bois (which I personally loved) but with a little more staying power...the finish and balance on this bottle gives it a slight edge, and since I gave the VT TV a A minus, the Bernadette gets an...

Grade: A


Vintage liquors and Cognac Expert have this in stock - definitely worth snagging at least one.

Jean-Luc Pasquet L'Esprit de Famille "Le Cognac de Jean" 49.6%

This fall, JLP released two different 500ml bottles sourced from casks they purchased. The stories that accompany these bottles are chock-full of French romanticism and family heritage - I love it. These days, so much gets lost in the wake of corporate spirits growth and acquisition, fictitious narratives about brand history, non-transparent sourcing, etc..."True" family stories about historical production and relationships, like the ones accompanying the "Jean" and "Bernadette," are fleeting. I like JLP - and what they bottle for that matter - and these releases are just another one of the reasons why I do.   

Here's the background straight from JLP:

Le Cognac de Jean is a blend of 1969 and 1977 eau-de-vie from Jean Biais, who was a fellow vintner, distiller, and our neighbor. 

Just after the Second World War Jean, who was originally from Cognac, married Mauricette Clavaud and began working with his father-in-law on the family’s Eraville property. Jean and Mauricette had about a dozen hectares of vines in Grande Champagne (Eraville) and Petite Champagne (Chateauneuf) as well as livestock in the beginning, but no distillery. Jean decided to install an eight hectoliter, wood and charcoal-burning pot still in 1960 and another 14 hectoliter one a couple of years later, after falling in love with the intricacies of the distillation process.

Jean was also passionate about the life of his village; he served on the mayor’s council for a number of years and founded the town social and hunting clubs. Beyond his involvement in his community, he was elected as the first president of the regional wine-growers’ union. He played an pivotal role, alongside Jean Brillet and Paul Hostaing, in negotiating the first contracts between vintners and the big cognac houses they supply. Since then, these agreements have become the norm.

After 40 years, Jean retired, leaving his 14 hectares of vines to his two daughters, Clairette and Josette, who continue to make cognac on the property today. Jean passed away in 2005 at the age of 84, but his legacy remains.

Our bottling of Le Cognac de Jean ties our two families together, and we are proud to pay tribute to our friend and neighbor. When Jean-Luc arrived in Eraville, it was Jean who welcomed him and helped guide him. Subsequently, Jean-Luc has aided Clairette in the cellars, actually blending these two vintages with her. This is a cognac of character, like the man who crafted it from grapes to eau-de-vie. Intensely spicy yet round, bursting with aromas of citrus, oak, and ginger, Le Cognac de Jean finishes in a warming black pepper fade.

Amazing! And with that, here is my take:

Jean-Luc Pasquet L'Esprit de Famille "Le Cognac de Jean" 49.6%

N: violets and red grapefruits initially - I'd call it an earthy citrusness - followed with some other sweet candy notes...with more air I just get more and more citrus (and some lemon)

P: there is some bitter citrus but it doesn’t pop as much as the nose (but its definitely not weak, either)...vanilla, sweet walnuts, rose petals, and a nice spicy/peppery quality...I’d call this farmy cognac but I heard someone describe this as "rustic" and I think that’s a better description

F: the citrus returns and then a final floral note bullies off all the other flavors resting on the palate...there’s nice length and no lack oomph

Thoughts: I like this and will pick up another bottle at some point. While it's not overly complex, it’s very tasty cognac and if you're a fan of brandies containing the notes I listed above you'll definitely dig this one. It actually reminds me of some of the good VT Petite Champagnes I've had. Overall, I like the JLP Tres Vieille a sliver more, so I'm giving the the JLP "Jean" a very solid...

Grade: B+

I'll review the second bottle from this series, the "Bernadette," shortly, but as a quick preview I'll mention that I immediately bought 4 more bottles of the Bernadette after trying it (and will probably buy one or two more)...It's a fantastic cognac and my first bottle is just about drained already. Both the Jean and Bernadette can currently be found at Cognac Expert and Vintage Liquors.