Today’s review is of a 1925 Borderies from Malternative, an independent bottler based out of Belgium (owned by Pieter Knape) focusing on bottling 30+ year cognacs. Honestly, it’s nice to see cognac get more attention from indie bottlers run by spirits geeks (outside of the Norwegians who were definitely first to the table and been in the cognac game for at least a minute).
This bottling dates back to at least 1925 but is likely a tad older - when dealing with spirits this old records simply disappear into the void and bottlers have to rely whatever archival information they can find. It was obtained from a French family related to Rene Rivieres and distilled in the Borderies region. There are not a ton of Borderies options on the market which makes this bottling even more interesting. I will say that I don’t fall for what I call the “terroir trap,” meaning I don’t have strong preconceived notions about a cognac’s profile or quality solely based on where the grapes were grown...at least not yet. Ryan was messaging me the other day saying that he’s been noticing some distinctions between the regions and that there might be some truth to terroir profiling.
With that said, onto the review…
N: plenty of fruits up front...apricots, citrus, and Trader Joe's dried mango strips...along with some confectionary baking spices, rose petal, and a decadent creamy note that I can’t put my finger directly on, but I want to say it reminds me of ChiChi’s fried ice cream (oh those childhood memories).
P: it's amazing how NOT oaky and fresh this is, even if it spent a substantial amount of time in a demijohn. The fruits from the nose translate to the palate (so apricots and mandrin)...the citrus takes on more of a creamy texture rather than the typical acidity notes, and I’d say the citrus flavors are similar to something you’d get from orange marmalade...there’s some sweet cereal notes hanging around in the background (I’ve been eating Honey Nut Chex so lets say that) and hints of green apples.
F: very nice length, the whole experience is finished off with a mild smokey note that reminds me of burnt incense (like when it's finished burning and there are small wafts of char in the air that you can subtly taste).
Thoughts: This is a very nice cognac and checks all the boxes for what you’d look for - a standard setter. But with that said, there wasn’t that extra “wow” factor that would cause me to aggressively chase down a bottle. If I was drawing analogies, this bottle is more of a Scottie Pippen than a Michael Jordan. But remember that Pippen is a legend in his own right, and this bottle is fantastic. If I had a spare $400 would I buy one? Heck yeah I would. But this was an extremely limited release and tough to locate these days - so am I going to aggressively pursue one? Probably not.
Thanks Zac for the sample!
Grade: A Minus
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