Jean Fillioux XO Grande Reserve 44% (2022 bottling)

30yo+, 44% and a privileged terroir (Juilllac). What could go wrong with this XO from La Pouyade? 

Colour: Dark amber, orange lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Charming rancio with undeniable chalky notes at first. Orange zest jam. Leathery notes, slightly lifted by touches of oud. Massive kind of GC blend. Dark tea shades. Deep nose.

Palate: Oily texture, with immediate acidulous aromas on cola sweets and apricot juice. Delicious warm spice notes on paprika. Smooth tannins in the aftertaste, though they could have been a little better integrated, in my opinion.

Last Notes: Vivid juicy notes on vine peach and pear–almond juice. A tad of earthy, mushroomy notes on shiitake and boletus. Strong nutty/oaky shades in the background, mainly linseed oil and dried walnut. Back on the palate, acidulous notes again: raw tangerine and blueberry juice.

Great GC expression. A fine translation of a privileged terroir. I only miss better oak integration to score it higher.

My very subjective note: 87+/100