Vallein Tercinier Petite Champagne Lot 58 (Cask sample)

First 50s VT here. 51%. PC. Let’s go!

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

Nose: So much elegance expressed by this first nose. Very delicate floral notes of orange blossom and lychee. Then comes the malted fruitiness of old Scotch, with its refined patina. Sublime lingering waxy notes. That’s a GRAND Cognac, without any doubt. A touch of damp cellar in the background, which is quite logical when you know VT’s cellars (and VT’s profiles, by extension). A chalky backbone runs through the whole profile. The nose keeps evolving in the glass, gradually revealing warm spices and vinous notes (caraway, and even a middle-aged Condrieu with its delicious apricot-and-honey profile).

Palate: Extra-oily texture with a magnificent acidulous aftertaste. Strawberry stew, Grand Veneur sauce (echoing the previous vinous notes), red berries. Beautiful rancio notes in the aftertaste, mainly on light cigar aromas and sage-infused butter. Stunning bright profile, driven by this particular acidulous thread that instantly makes you smile. Maybe a slight lack of depth considering the pedigree, but I’m really splitting hairs here.

Last Notes: It remains quite waxy with air, a bit like a very old paint behind its coating layer. A tad of Sauternes-Barsac wine scents too. Back on the palate, you get great floral shades again on violet sweets and peach blossom. That’s where I’m always impressed by 60s PC DNA. Delicateness, precision, exoticism. Could it be more enjoyable?

Apart from a very slight lack of depth, this is one I simply can’t forget. But it was almost scripted: 1960s Petite Champagne is my sweet spot. Being two years older doesn’t seem to matter after all.

My very subjective note: 92/100