Navarre "Souvenir Impérial", 40%

Ryan's Notes



On a recent trip to France I was fortunate to have been able to visit the cognac house of Jacky Navarre.  Justin has previously written about a favorite of both of ours, Navarre's Vielle Reserve. It is a fantastic old cognac at a higher proof and is one of the better cognacs I've had the pleasure to own and drink.  I was excited to see their domaine which was a really beautiful property. The house on the label is the very one you see when you enter their driveway. Like many of the other domaines I had the pleasure of visiting their production is quite small, as is their operation. One still. Bed for sleeping in while tending the distillation still present despite no longer relying on steady coals through the night.  They have a long history of producing cognac that dates back to the 1800s.  They have a warehouse full of old stock dating back 50, 60 years.  No additives in their cognac.  I learned recently that they used to only have the single Vielle Rerserve as their one and only release.  A 35 year old blend, but 35 years here is the average age, so we've got some older stock in there. Jacky Navarre's motto at the time was "I'd rather do one thing well, than many things poorly".  Today they have three offerings.  The Vielle Reserve. A younger 20 year blend named Cravache d'Or, which I found to be just OK. Interestingly, unlike the two other offerings which have both spent more time in oak, this one is a bit too heavy on the oak and spice for my tastes.  Lastly, Souvenir Impérial, a 50 year blend, again that is the average age. This is a newer release from them and it is naturally reduced down to 40%.

 On to the tasting...  Navarre Souvenir Impérial, 40%

Nose: Very aromatic, perfumey. If perfumes are made of tropical fruits and exotic woods. Papaya, mango, honey'd apples, ginger, sandalwood. Just slightly drying.

Taste:  Immediately fruity. Papaya, passion fruit. Lots of guava.  A touch of eucaplytpus mixed in. Fresh and lively.

Finish: More sandalwood and other exotic wood flavors. Walnut oil. An earthy umami note. Lingering oak sweetness.

This, to me, is well-aged Grande Champagne at its best. This reminds me of some of those excellent Grande Champagnes we've tasted from Vallein Tercinier and Lhéraud.  Utterly fruity, but layered and complex through the finish.  This is a touch light in body due to its 40%, but very rich in flavor.  That's what we get with these cognacs that have naturally reduced over time.  The body isn't dead in the water. For sure, light. But, what it lacks in mouthfeel it makes up for in its fullness of flavor.  And I relate this almost to the difference of drinking espresso versus a pour over filter coffee.  At the expense of body and mouthfeel, the precision and patience of a very good filter coffee often offers an impressive array of clarity and flavor.  I think that's what we have here with a cognac like the Souveir Imperial. Another excellent offering from Navarre and deserves a spot on the shelf next to the Vielle Reserve.  This isn't yet available in online stores anywhere, but will be released sometime soon.  I paid around $100 for my bottle at Navarre, but expect it to be well north of $200 after being imported to the states.  This bottle is worth the plunge, but I think we will see it pop up at a much more attractive price sometime soon over at online store, Premier Grand Crus.

strong A-

Jacques Estève "Excellence" 43%

Ryan's Notes



Jacques Estève is a 6th generation producer with 49 hectares located in Celles, in the Petite Champagne region. In fact the back label on this bottle indicates that the family has been growing grapes in the region since 1800.  A long tradition.  This is Petite Champagne eaux-de-vie and was aged in 350 liter casks.  This particular release is a 1992 vintage, although due to the laws around being able to put a vintage on the label, they decided to just name this release "Excellence" and let the brandy speak for itself.  Bottled at 43%.  This particular bottle arrived in 2017, so about 25 years old, and they have been bottling it by hand to order.   I learned on my recent trip to Cognac that the Jacques Estève brand will be coming to an end with the current generation of ownership, as the next generation plans to sell their remaining casks in bulk.  That is sad news for us as we face the loss of another small cognac house. 

Nose: A nose that is slightly dominated by oak - mainly some pungent spice and sawdust. Mixed in are some hints of peaches, plums, and honey.

Taste: There is some grape jam immediately on the palate. After the initial sweetness there's a slightly drying oak presence that comes through the palate.  Still balanced by some sweetness, though. Spiced honey comes to mind. A lot of ginger and pepper.  Overlaying the oak and spice are those light touches of stone fruits, as in the nose. Mainly plums, peaches, and nectarines. A little bit of chocolate and a light pecan nuttiness towards the back.  The aromatic spices come through again in the finish, but what actually lingers beyond that are the fruit sugars.

Overall:  It's a very nice cognac and like many of the cognacs we seek out, the quality is without question, high.  Being critical for a moment, it's still a touch light at 43% and the fruits and oak spice seem to be a bit in contention with each other. It also lacks a bit of character to separate it from the pack. On the other hand, it's very enjoyable to drink, only costs $75 at Astor Wines and that makes this a great cognac with a decent proof to have on the shelf. 

B

1977 Domaine de Mounisson Armagnac (Fitte et Laterrade)

A review from Ryan



Late last year a handful of single cask Armagnac were released in the US through Astor Wines & Spirit by a bottler named Fitte et Laterrade. Another negotient searching the country side looking for worthy brandy to put in a bottle with their name on it.  Tough job but somebody has got to do it.  This Armagnac comes from Domaine de Mounisson in Ténarèze and is a 1977 vintage bottled at 41 years of age and at 41.7%.

Here are the notes:


Nose: Honey dipped apples, strawberry, apricot. Jammy. Touch of smoke, but we're primarily in sweet fruits.

Taste: Soft entry of mixed berries and stone fruits. Peaches, apricot. Sweet fruit reductions. Caramel. Some toasted oak as we move towards the back.

Finish: Very little drying oak. Just more rich fruit sugars. Peach syrup. Just a touch of herbal astringency to remind this did actually spend some time in oak. It really all goes down very easily.

Overall: This is great. Mouthfeel is soft and inviting, but not in an underproofed way. The syrupy fruit notes are a highlight. It is not the most layered and complex spirit but finds its niche in being a very drinkable and enjoyable armagnac.  The price is a bit steep at $195 and can still be found at Astor Wines.


Solid B+

1988 Château de Léberon, 44.9% (selection by Beast Masters/PM Spirits)

Ryan's Notes



This is a selection by a spirit enthusiast group called the Beast Masters Club and PM Spirits.  It is a 1988 vintage armagnac from Château de Léberon. Bottled at 44.9%, 30 years old and dark as night. Another one of those cool producers that ages their brand in oak harvested from the trees on their property. A combination of Ugni Blanc and Colombard grapes used in their production.

Nose: The nose promises a lot. Dark sticky molasses, walnut liqueur, lacquer, stewed fruits - plums, strawberries, light hints of tobacco.  I'm not a glass fanatic, but it's a nose that really opens up nicely in a larger glass like a canadian glencairn.

Taste: It starts off sweet and actually a bit juicy. Spiced chocolate pudding.  Thick sugars of stewed raisins, plums, figs, cherries, citrus.  Chewy mouthfeel. Lots of herbal bitters. Angostura. Actually a bit manhattan-esque. 

Finish: Tobacco leaves. No surprise we have some more lacquer and spicy oak notes that follow through in the finish.   Those dark fruits still linger underneath the oak. 

The profile doesn't change too much with the addition of water, but perhaps softens the dryness and offers a touch more sugars.

Overall: Overall this is both thickly sweet and drying at the same time.  With how dark this armagnac is I picked up a bottle of it thinking it would be way heavy on the oak for my tastes.  If you've read any of my reviews it's no secret that I love oak only in modest balanced doses. Well, I'm glad I grabbed a bottle as it's balanced nicely and a great brandy.  Just excellent.  It's full of complexity and the finish sticks around forever.  A really nice selection.   Well done.

A-

COMANDON SINGLE CASK 1977 THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE 59.7%

Thanks to a unwelcomed mid-April winter storm (let’s call it a midwesternr’), my social media feeds have been blown up with Game of Thrones themed posts. “Winter is coming...winter is NEVER leaving...I think I just saw the Night King having a pint at Revolution Brewery.” So I figured what better time than now to try this heater of a cognac - the LMDW TTGV 1977 Comandon - which weighs in at 59.7%.

The Comandon is from the Borderies cru, the smallest (acreage wise) of the regions. The history with Comandon is pretty interesting. They are an old house that used to produce cognac but currently they operate as an independent bottler. I imagine that since the label on this LMDW TTGV says “Comandon” that Comadon produced this cognac...but I also wonder if there is a chance it was merely purchased from Comandon by TTGV and produced by another house. Unlikely, but maybe? I guess I’ll have to look for some timelines and google a little more extensively (GoT is on in 15 minutes so I’m a bit limited time-wise right now). The Comandon website has a lot of info on the house and the link is provided below.

On to the review...

N: chocolate covered raspberries, canned peaches, apricot...a little cinnamon and coriander hiding in there, too.

P: Initially a sweet and creamy palate...apricots, peaches and cream...then baking spices and some herbal qualities like green tea...There is a little heat strikes it off-balance a little - not awful but definitely noticeable. The palate reminds me of a Frapin 89 I had, but with more oomph (since its cask strength). Aside from helping the baking spices pop more, a little water just muted the other flavors rather than teasing them out.

F: has a very nice length with a little burn...a little pleasure and pain commingled that booze masochists wont mind.

Thoughts: This is not a bad cognac by any measure. Serge gave this a lowly 79 points, which in my mind is a death-kiss score (at least by his measure). I have to respectfully disagree and say this is definitely a decent bottling. If it was still around at retail I would snag a bottle for myself (this was part of a bottle split with amigos).

Grade: B Plus

https://www.comandon.com/

Jean Fillioux XO Cognac Premium Barrel # 96 100% Ugni Blanc 45%

Here’s a quick review of a new(sh) Jean Fillioux single barrel released in the USA. It was selected by “Heavenly Spirits” and I think it’s seeing distro in a couple of states, limited to 240 bottles. The elevated proof and barrel number are definitely shiny objects that will draw the eyes of whisky drinkers. I do not know if there are any additives in this particular bottling, but per the Norwegian website, other Jean Fillioux bottles do have elevated sugar levels (I linked the Norwegian page below). However, in the grand scheme of things, they don’t appear to be the worst offenders when it comes to adding sugar. Lets see if this bottle gives me a toothache...   


N: very “cognacy,” like when non-cognac drinkers refer to cognac...this really walks the middle of the road with one foot on the sweet side and the other stomping on flowers...apricots, roses, prunes and peaches...vanilla, bamboo stalk, and these weird old timey candies I got at an old timey general store in an old timey town when I was a kid (don’t ask for more details - it’s one of those olfactory memories that have stuck with me for 30+ years)

P: the apricots really translate from the nose, along with melons, custard, flower stems, marshmallows, and some other stuff...nothing really jumps out ahead, just a nice balance of flavors that are neither showy nor offensive. 

F: decent medium length, doesn’t last forever but doesn’t flee right away, either.

Comments: This bottle is fine. If we were playing dodgeball and picking teams, this bottle would probably get picked in the very middle of the selection - it’s not going to change the outcome of the game but it’s also not going to tank your team. For what it is I’d say it’s overpriced ($125 retail) by about $50, but its not like there are many more similar cognac options stateside right now. 

Changing gears a little, I want to say that the Fillioux estate looks beautiful and I love that their cognac is a family affair. Check out the Heavenly Spirits link below for some fantastic pictures and more details on Fillioux offerings.

Grade: B

Additives: https://www.vinmonopolet.no/vmp/search/?q=fillioux

US Distro: https://www.heavenlyspirits.com/products/cognac/jean-fillioux/

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+