Interstellar SESSION #3
#5
François Voyer Collection Personnelle N°7 45,3%
And we begin with this high-reputation Grande Champagne. If you follow crazy Norwegians’ tasting sessions, you may have heard about this venerable blend, consisting of: 25% 1920 / 20% 1928 / 25% 1930 /29% 1946. Yep.
Colour: Dark amber, orange lights. Regular heavy tears.
Nose: Licorice bomb at first! Humpa Lumpa! Bang! WTF! Bright acidulous shades, but some kind of acidulous impressions that I never get before. Incredible perfume. Bright, floral, heady. Perfect earthy/citrus mix, a bit like cedar/kumquat or Terre d’Hermes perfume. Constant evolution. Lovely honeyed shades. Ample quince notes, a bit like a « young » Château Climens (2016, for example). Precious wood scents too. Can’t wait to taste!
Mouth: Extra oily texture that carries a perfect acidulous wave. Violet, blackcurrant, coca. Heavy tea-ish notes, but very fresh, much more like a mint tea. Licorice again, but I’ve been spoiled by the nose! You find a nice bitterness in the aftertaste, something like a nonsensical mix of green asparagus and orange zest. Hints of tannins in the background too.
Last Notes: Great ristretto scents. Full of orange liquor notes now. Extreme finesse. Floral bouquet, mainly on jasmine and rosewater. An eau-de-vie that seems a bit thin and fragile by the nose, whereas the palate shows some more structured accents. But what a palate again. Violet sweets, coca again. Passion fruit in the aftertaste.
Awesome cognac. What can I add? Nothing. Quintessence of a terroir and a great expression of master cellar work. Waiting for the best moment to release such a delicate and venerable eau-de-vie, blending everything at the right height, that’s something requiring haute horlogerie precision. Hats off, Mr Vaudon and his team (and his predecessors for sure)!
93/100
#4
Grosperrin Succession perrier lot 9 49%
This is one of the very first cognacs in Grosperrin’s collection. There’s not that much information about that one, only that it’s a rare bottling (114 bottles) and it’s supposed to be (at least) a pre-1900 Bons Bois (!).
Colour: Mahogany, red lights. Irregular heavy tears.
Nose: Incredible nose! What a splendid entrance. Very close to a very old sherry bomb whisky, even with a gentle kind of peat. Marvelous oxydated notes. Constant evolution. One breath after another gives different shades. Heavy rancio. Full of musky scents, but rapidly swayed by fresh mentholated tones. Deep cognac. Well, is it a cognac? It’s much more than that. White truffle melted to bright candied fruit notes. Cherry liquor, very old Cabernet notes, reminding me of the rich cooked pepper notes that I get with Angelus 1993 or Pape Clement 1985. Hints of fresh bolet and other kinds of earthy shades. Stunning! It goes everywhere! MASSIVE rancio. And still some lingering sherry notes, bringing me back some memories of a dark Kavalan.
Mouth: That’s too emotional to write down what I’m tasting. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful. I’m already wondering if it’s not the best thing I’ve tried among all the spirits that found their way to my palate. Longmorn 1966, Linkwood 1984. No, that’s definitely not cognac, right? Ample leathery notes, 7-hour lamb shank, cooked tarragon. Sublime. And you still get this bloody rancio, as if you were blending Grosperrin MMC3 with a pre WWII Borderies pineau and letting infuse a full bag of porcini in this potion. Very oaky aftertaste, but without astringence, as you get smooth chocolate aromas.
Last Notes: Very old Shyraz notes, a bit like a 30yo Saint-Joseph with its peppery and velvety side. Obvious oxidized scents, something like an extra-old P.X. What’s truly impressive with that one is that even with its dark rancio and its oaky structure, it remains fresh and vivid. Overripe apple, slightly brett cider, cooked quince. That’s something you don’t expect in this kind of venerable cognac. Ample cigar notes in the background. 1 hour and a half. 1cl. And you still want to discuss the best spirit among all? It ends on prune cake, raisins, hydromel, pain au raisin, and grenadine syrup. Hints of yeasty notes too.
The empty glass is full of rancioted leathery notes, roasted coffee beans, and blackberry marmalade.
An unprecedented kind of cognac on Hors d’Age. Fabulous eau-de-vie with a constant evolution in the glass. It seems massive at first glance, but if you have one hour or more, well, bring that one on a date with you.
92/100
#3
CABANNE 19.10 G.C The Whisky Jury 44,9%
Another cognac that could be exhibited in a museum. Over 110yo in cask, 44,9%, Grande Champagne. And 1910, as you’d probably guess. It comes from Bourg-Charente vines, so the very northern part of GC (and not a common one), not that far from Jarnac and Mainxe. It’s the oldest cask owned by Famille Cabanne, and it was bottling N°100 in The Whisky Jury collection.
Colour: Mahogany, red lights. Irregular heavy tears.
Nose: Solar and warm profile at first. Very rum-like, some kind of Worthy Park notes. Full of tropical fruits. Cherry liquor. Great freshness with mentholated notes. A bit tobacco-y in the background.
Mouth: Thick texture. Stunning acidulous entrance. Full of cranberry juice at first. A tad sugary in the aftertaste. A bit musky and meaty with air. Complex palate. A very little watery in the aftertaste, but it remains very intense.
Last Notes: Licorice bomb. Cranberries again. Glorious nose. Stupid depth regarding the time spent in a cask….Briny green olive shades. So vivid regarding the age. Prune cake. Toasted bread. It goes everywhere. Cooked tarragon. Full of raisins and pineapple juice, back on the palate. Cedarwood. Very tobacco-forward now.
Stunning and majestic cognac. Insolent regarding its age and its time spent in cask. But on one hand, you’ve got a fabulous nose, almost unprecedented in my memory collection. And on the other you’ve got a very good palate, with a wide spectrum and a great intensity. But not the depth reached with the nose. Scored apart, nose: 93, palate: 90+.
92/100
#2
Grosperrin GRANDE Champagne N°22 Lot 684 40%
Some say that’s the best cognac ever made. One of the rarest bottlings for sure (39 liters). 1922, Grande Champagne.
Colour: Mahogany, red lights. Irregular medium tears.
Nose: Deep rancio with vegetal scents and subtle hesperidean perfume. Very charming kind of eau-de-vie. Nice mix of kirsch notes and dark chocolate scents. Stunning malted patine, reminding me of a 30yo Balvenie. Glorious. Bright profile. It goes everywhere. Cloves, zan, Fresh leather. Violet perfume. Elegant fragrance.
Mouth: Divine nectar. Hydromel. Very old Meursault. 25yo Vin Jaune, with its delicious oxidized aromas. Beeswax. Leather cream. So deep. Stunning mouth length regarding the ABV. High acidity profile. Vibrant acidulous shades on blackcurrant sweets. Hints of herbal notes on fennel and white truffle aromas.
Last Notes: One of the most sublime kinds of honey scents I’ve ever smelled. And the palate again. So many aromas at the same time. An unexpected wave of freshness with eucalyptus and cardamom, fabulous yeasty notes on fresh bread and Lu biscuit. Fabulous fruitiness on fresh quince. One of the most complex rancios I’ve ever tasted. Bright/brilliant profile.
Amen to this cognac. That’s all I have to say.
93+/100
#1
Grosperrin Grande Champagne N°34 45,1%
Of course, I have to think about the VT Grand Rue 34 and its stellar quality. Needless to say that I expect another gem with this 1934 GC from Grosperrin’s collection.
Colour: Amber, gold lights. Irregular heavy tears.
Nose: Solar profile. Bright and fruity at first. Massive and complex tea-ish notes then. Very deep nose, as it evolves very quickly, showing various shades of fruity and fresh scents. Intense tropical notes with a tad of yeasty sides. Banana bread, Penderyn Bourbon. Hints of chalky notes. 1934? No way! Roasted almonds and a few malted notes again.
Mouth: Wow. Thick texture. Massive tropical shades. Sharp profile with distinct chalky notes. Dry floral shades on jasmine, hay and heather. Marvelous rancio on candied quince and caramelized banana. It gets wilder with air, as you get a tad more of musky shades. Infinite mouth length. Floral tea notes mixed with subtle acacia honey aromas. Stop it!
Last Notes: What a kind of intensity. Insolent. Hints of very old agricole rum earthy shades. Fresh mint tea scents. I can keep that glass for a whole day, pretty sure it will give something relevant in 12 hours. This is the kind of eau-de-vie that feels it can be aged for a century (or more). Medicinal/herbal mix of peppermint and thyme. And what a palate! I mean, first it goes on papaya and passion fruit, then you’ve got smokyy/earthy mezcal shades (almost confining to the ultimate Port Ellen peat finesse), then it reveals sublime candied citrus aromas.
Liquid treasure. Pure, clean, and sharp kind of chalky GC. There are hints of perfection in this 1934 cognac. Vivid and deep at the same time.
93+/100
Fabulous cognacs, unique profiles. I feel quite lucky to taste these gems.
I already have some 18XX in mind for the next session. But if you have some samples, I’d be happy to buy you similar quality cognacs. Don’t forget to check my current postal address before sending me anything.
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