Side-by-side tasting of two rare Fins Bois cognacs from the 1940s: a Vacqueur cask sample and a Grosperrin N°45. It was great to see producers bringing this kind of historical material to the Cognac Festival, offering a rare opportunity to compare old-style Fins Bois profiles from the same decade.
Vacqueur Fins Bois Lot 46 (cask sample)
Not that much to say about that one, except that’s a northern Fins Bois. I don’t remember the ABV, but it was something around 49% if I’m not mistaken. 1946. Fins Bois. What could go wrong?
Colour: Dark amber with golden lights. Irregular medium tears.
Nose: Opulent honeyed tones at first, immediately wrapped in a strong tannin structure. Bourbon vanilla and a mix of indistinct nutty notes. Light fruity shades, mainly raw quince and green banana. Hints of lilac and lychee. Quite shy overall, perhaps still gasping for air.
Palate: Oily texture, dominated again by strong vanilla. Candied citrus. Heavy wood influence, leaving a lingering impression on the palate. Hints of round pastry notes. Finishes on roasted aromas like fresh coffee bean.
Last Notes: Floral tones reappear. Nice fermented shades on fresh bread dough. Lingseed oil. A shy mandarin fruitiness in the background. Back on the palate, a few spicy notes, mainly on nutmeg, tabasco. Ends on strong cocoa powder.
Too imprecise and tannic for my taste, despite a clearly noble DNA and what was probably a very interesting terroir. Moreover, I’ve got a few other old Vacqueur cognacs to review soon…
85+/100
Grosperrin Heritage N°45 52,2% Lot 1188
The latest bottling of this famous Fins Bois Heritage N°45. 80yo and still in cask, so you expect something with a solid backbone to endure such a long oak aging. 1945. 52,2%. Fins Bois. Let’s go!
Colour: Mahogany with orange lights. Irregular heavy tears.
Nose: Explosive exotic notes: banana stew, raw mango. Intensely rancioted. Deep tea-ish shades. Precious wood. Orangette (Patrick Roger style). Sage-infused butter. Slightly medicinal mix of clove and ginger. Carrot/butternut soup. A faint waxy touch.
Palate: Marvelous acidulous notes, mainly on overripe peach, blueberry juice, bergamot sweets. Brutal. A one-way ticket to Rancioland. Massive licorice in the aftertaste. Juicy AF. Gentle mentholated tones. Meaty/musky hints.
Last Notes: Heady floral notes on orange blossom. Chamomile and verbena infusion. What began brutally becomes more refined with air. Delicious umami on soy sauce and chicken broth. Even fresher with time, especially on herbal shades. Full of acetate in the mouth length. Baba-au-rhum fighting with fresh leather. It ends on Capovilla’s peach eau-de-vie. Bang!
Crazy good. Unlimited rancio paired with insolent freshness: a devilish recipe. Slightly different from Sponge bottling. It has to be from a privileged Fins Bois terroir. I mean, how is it possible to go through time so easily?
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