1994 Gilles Sarraute Bas Armagnac, 43.5%

Ryan's Notes




1994 Gilles Sarraute

The name on the label is Gilles Sarraute, but according to Astor Wines, the producer is Domaine Camille Sarraute. Either way, not a whole lot comes up when I do a search on this producer. Anybody have any info? Please share in the comments!

One interesting detail: according to Darroze, Gilles Sarraute has been overseeing grape production at Domaine de Salié for the past decade.  There's another familiar name that is related to this domaine that some armagnac and more specific L'encantada fans may recognize: Le Frêche.

So, now that we've got that fairly exhaustive overview of this producer out of the way, let's move on to the tasting.

  
Nose: Fairly straightforward nose that doesn't give too much away. Some fresh fruit. Berries. Orange liqueur. There's also almonds, leather, some bitter chocolate.

Taste: Oranges, lemons, caramelized sugars.  Very juicy upfront.  It transitions to some heavier notes of burnt caramel, milk chocolate. More fruit. Strawberries and cream. Towards the finish there's a sweet nuttiness - like candied roasted nuts. Some more typical oak notes of light tannins, wood polish.  The fruits and tannins all come together really nicely.

Overall: This is a juicy armagnac with enough sweet complexity to keep it interesting.  There is a balance from the oak that comes through in the finish, but we aren't even close into "oaky" territory.  I find this style very enjoyable.  It's fresh which is always a plus for me.  This is available from Astor Wine for $115. Worth grabbing one, especially if there's a 15% off sale.

B+

1994 Fanny Fougerat (Through the Grapevine), 52.8%

Ryan's Notes




Quick thanks to Justin for keeping things going while I battled an epic head cold that just didn’t want to go away.

This is a review of a 1994 vintage cognac coming from Fanny Fougerat.  It was bottled by the La Maison Du Whisky label - Through the Grapevine - which highlights single cask, cask strength, vintage cognac from small producers.  We’ve reviewed some of these TtG releases in the past. There have been some true gems in there (Lot 87 Remi Landier (A-), ‘71 Francois Voyer (A) ). After Master of Malt discontinued shipping to the US, these bottles became even more difficult to obtain.  Recently, a handful of TtG bottles were brought into the US market, thanks to the work of Kate Perry, who is the North American Market Manager for LMDW & Velier.

So, who is Fanny Fougerat? Like so many of the small houses, they only sold their cognac to the big labels for many years. It was only in 2013 that they first began releasing cognac under the Fanny Fougerat label.  Their production is split between two regions - Fins Bois and Borderies with 30 hectares of Ugni Blanc vines.  All of their cognac is distilled on site. From what I’ve gathered they bottle their cognac without additives, and their official bottlings range in proof from the traditional 40% up to a more respectable 44%.

This particular cognac is from their Borderies grapes (some really wonderful fresh fruit-forward cognac has been produced in this region - I’m thinking of the 1974 Giboin (A-) ).

The details:

Producer: Fanny Fougerat
Distilled: 1994
Region: Borderies
ABV: 52.8%

The tasting notes:

Nose: Honey, floral, heavy on walnuts, some caramel, sawdust 

Taste: There’s an initial hit of juicy sweetness. Loads of citrus and green apple. Also bittersweet cocoa, caramel. Brown sugar. The mouthfeel is thick and even slightly sticky. More tart fruit. tangerines, grapefruit, and sticky candied apples.   Lots of thick sugars in this cognac. 

Finish: A slightly medicinal twist on the finish with wood polish, propolis, echinacea. I like this. It starts off very traditional and ends with a more challenging set of flavors.  There is enough lingering sweetness with the layered complexity that continues to invite you to take another sip.

Thoughts:  This is a cognac I keep coming back around to and continues to reveal more layers with each visit. I’m a fan and hope there is more to taste from Fanny Fougerat. Are some of these small houses a one stop show never to be seen again? I hope note. No regrets on this purchase. It was around $150 at K&L.

B+/A-, but let's say a strong B+

Bourgoin Cognac Brut de Frut 22 Year 55.3%

Here’s a quick review of a brandy from Bourgoin Cognac, a small grower/producer located in the Fins Bois region (at least from what I can tell looking at the AOC map). BC definitely caters to the whisky crowd by producing untainted, un-boised, un-sugared brandy. Their website even says “save whisky, drink Bourgoin Cognac.” At least they have a target market in mind. This review is of one of their cask strength offerings and can be found in some spots in the USA (mostly the left and right coasts).

On to the review (from a sample from a friend)...

N: a little new make’ish, like cedar, and also pears, dried mango, lychee, and no. 2 pencil.

P: the pears really pop, some light tropical fruits, almond slices (like the ones on a summer salad)...a little heat but its not too hot.

F: the pears and mango ride a wave of gentle heat until it’s gone.

Notes: this is a bright, fruity cognac...a summer brandy if you will. And I like that Bourgoin isn’t messing around with what goes into the bottle outside of the actual distillate. With that said, this one was dumped a little too soon despite 22 years in oak - it tasted young. And the pricing is pretty high (over 100 for a 375ml in some places). Overall, this teetered on the B / B+ line, but I can’t ignore the subtle heat (and pricing here in the States).

Grade: B

https://bourgoincognac.com/