A. de Vacqueur Grande Champagne Lot 20 45,2%

Yes. 1920. Around a century of ageing. It was great to see some producers bringing such venerable material to the first Cognac Festival, a gesture that clearly speaks to a more geek-oriented audience. 

Colour: Amber with golden lights. Medium irregular tears.

Nose: Slightly honeyed. Earthy tones. Deep nutty notes blended with ample tea-ish scents. Undeniable complexity, but lacking expression and precision for now. Quite shy, possibly gasping for air.

Palate: Oily texture with peppery notes: nutmeg, black pepper. Light fruitiness on banana jam and raisins. Ample leathery tones followed by soft tannins.

Last Notes: Delicate floral shades with air. Fragile yet vivid. A spoonful of acacia honey. Warm spice: caraway, ras-el-hanout. Back on the palate, the same structural disconnect appears: beautiful fragility, but something in the architecture doesn’t fully align. An obvious lack of precision and depth imho. 

Fascinating in many ways, after all, this is a 1920 cognac! But the discrepancy between nose and palate prevents it from reaching higher scores.