Vallein Tercinier Fins Bois Lot 89 48,5%

THE LOT 89 : A CASK STRENGTH FINS BOIS

CHERMIGNAC SIGNATURE

Colour : Old gold. Regular heavy tears.

Nose : Intense cherry scents to welcome your nostrils. Grenadine too. A bag of various sweets. Violet syrup. Toffee. Bitter Chocolate. A full spoon of fig jam. It goes acidulous notes and bitterness. Orange blossom. Tinned/young pineapple.  Then it becomes rounder and spicier. Caraway. Coco milk. Butter chicken. A little of curry notes. Well, this cognac is a bit talkative ! Hints of black pepper and mint. 

Palate : Dry texture, maybe a bit syrupy. Quince jam. Answering to the nose impressions, the palate is very spicy too. Anise. Vanilla pod. Nutmeg. Many aromas but it’s too imprecise to appreciate this cognac at its fullest. A bit disappointing. It ends on raisins, dry prunes and hints of fresh vanilla again (maybe the wood effect here). 

Last Notes : With more air it’s way more convincing. As it’s a cask strength, I’d recommend to let it more than 20/30 minutes in the glass  before tasting. For the nose : Bananas sweets (H*ribos), overripe melon, candied plums. The palate is more precise, even if it’s not what I expected. A huge wave of honey and apple syrup. Caramel sweets. It’s still spicy. Paprika, vanilla cream, anise. I tried with a little of water : almond pears, cake dough and it ends on chestnut and apricots jam.  But there is still a little lack of precision.

I’m not totally convinced by this Vallein Tercinier Lot 89. However, this almost 30yo Fins Bois is a great one with its very own personality. Less convincing than the Rue 75. 

My very subjective note : 88/100

More info on VT website

P.S : Thanks Luke for the opportunity to taste this one !