Malternative Belgium #14 Le Brûlé Lot 60 50,5%

First stop in Saint-Preuil for Malternative Belgium. Coming from the heart of Grande Champagne, Daniel Bouju’s cognacs are well-known for their very dark color, which is something they get with heavily toasted casks. This one is a 62yo G.C bottled at 50,5%…Well, let’s taste Le Brûlé!

Colour: Ebony, bright red lights (very Bouju-y color). Irregular heavy tears. 

Nose: Quite oaky, even after 10 minutes in the glass. Full of raisins and plums at first. Very tea-ish on earl grey notes. Light umami scents on dried mushrooms. Full of candied citruses, mainly tangerine and blood orange. Quite heady with a flowery touch on orange blossom. Burnt wood and caramelized nuts notes in the background. 

Palate: Sweet and dry texture in the aftertaste. It reminds me a lot of some old sherry bomb whiskies (not the easiest cognac for blind tasting if you ask me)  with heavy oaky notes melted to rancioted nutty notes. An extra touch of bourbon vanilla underlines balsamic tones in the mouth length. Roasted aromas on dark coffee and roasted chestnut notes. Still a little tea-ish on black tea. Quite licorice too. 

Last Notes: Nice tobacco notes with more air surrounded by strong cedar wood scents. A tad flowery on potpourri notes. Strong coffee notes melted to orange peel smells. Back on the palate, you find heavy dried prunes notes. Hints of spices, mainly black pepper. It ends on rooibos and walnut oil. 

A tad too oaky in my humble opinion (l was expecting something way more balanced than their Brut de Fut Royal, to be honest), but this 62yo G.C has aged very nicely and is carrying a subtle heady(tea-ish) rancio. 

My very subjective note: 88/100