The difficulty of giving a score

Giving a score to a cognac is very subjective. Everybody has  his own nose, his own palate and his own tastes. But cognacs are answering to some codes and some distinctive features, and that’s why a cognac tasting notes is also a way to score a product with a relative objectivity.

In fact, each cognac can be analyzed following specific requirements. At first, everything that has be done before bottling : the production methods, the aging time, the addition of additives (like caramel for the color) or not and everything else that could have an impact on the final product.

Then comes the tasting part. From the nose to the empty glass, everything has to be analyse. To give a score to a cognac, it’s important to find out its level of complexity, its ability to change during the tasting, its balance  and – of course – its scents and aromas. Some more points could be add depending on the smile you get while drinking it. However, the main part of the final mark (/100) is quite objective.

Producing tasting notes requires a strong consistency. Here you’ll find the whole process of my tasting notes.

Finally, the stars are made to give an overview of the mark (/100).

For the question of the /100 scale, I think Serge Valentin gives the perfect answer here (you have to scroll down a bit to find it).