Daniel Bouju Réserve Familiale 42% (2021 bottling)

Saint-Preuil again. And one of the high-end blends from Bouju. 80yo+. 42%. Let’s go! 

Colour: Petrol, red lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Intense precious wood at first, immediately followed by a great freshness on eucalyptus. Totally on the dark side. I wouldn’t call it austere, as you still get a very charming rancio on wet undergrowth and cigar notes, but it feels like all the finesse is buried under a solid structure. A level of oxidation close to a 50–60 yo Port.

Palate: Strong balsamic shades on the attack. Interesting sapidity with briny notes such as virgin olive oil and anchovies. Nice mouth length on caramel sweets and chocolate. A very distinctive kind of rancio, extremely dark as mentioned before. This is where I miss a bit of freshness to bring balance to this 80yo+ GC.

Last Notes: Heady herbal notes on tarragon and thyme. Strong raisin notes. The specific rancio of a right-bank Bordeaux wine. Back on the palate, a few walnut aromas emerge. Heavy tannins. It ends on soy sauce and cider apple.

Not an easy one to score. Typical Bouju style, with its strong structure and very particular oak integration. A truly venerable cognac, but far less readable than other spirits of similar age.

My very subjective note: 88+/100