Jean-Luc Pasquet 2017/2023 (40%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, The Pioneers, Petite Champagne, cask #72, 421 bottles)
Love Jean-Luc Pasquet, great negotiants and even better growers and distillers - not to mention extremely lovely people. Colour: pale gold. Nose: superbly fresh and youthful cognac full of citrus rinds, flowers and many shades of oranges and fruit marmalades. This is where 40% can sometimes be a bit of an asset when the Cognac is otherwise untarnished by sugar or additives and the vibrancy of the distillate is given space to really shine. Mouth: orange oils, flower blossoms and nectars, kumquat, mango pulp and orange sherbet and cordials. There are even little waxy and textural aspects like marrow and honey roast root vegetable coming through. Stunning spirit and a totally wonderful freshness around every corner. Finish: medium, but very wonderfully honeyed and full of natural fruit-driven sweetness. Still a wee rustic, earthy edge in there too. Comments: quite a statement to do such a bottling in this day and age at 40%, it reeks of confidence. Now, personally I’d probably have gone for 48.5% myself ;) Hard to imagine too many whiskies showing so well at this age and bottling strength. 
SGP: 551- 87 points.

Château Laubade 17 yo 2006/2023 (54.8%, Watt Whisky, Bas Armagnac, hogshead, 294 bottles) 
100% Baco grapes. Colour: amber. Nose: many typical dark fruits, along with a rather pungent varnish character which speaks to proper, mature, slightly funky Armagnac with this rusticity and slightly gluey character which nods at tropically aged rums. I also find plenty treacle, date molasses and a nice mix of chocolate and leaf mulch. Opens up very impressively I would say. With water: very fragrant, with a big development towards dried flowers, face cream, pollens and bouquet garni of herbs. Mouth: quite prickly with a lot of strong peppery notes, grippy tannin, aniseed, wood spices and strong black coffee. Pretty powerful and perhaps a tad heavy on the alcohol. With water: well tamed now! Much more focused on those dark fruits again, with plenty plums, damsons, stem ginger in syrup, figs and some nutty and wood spice notes. Still with some rather robust tannin. Finish: long, very spicy and peppery now, still a little hot and lively, and some aniseed in the aftertaste. Comments: really the powerful and heavy side of Armagnac I would say, but a style that would please many rum and whisky drinkers. Another excellent selection from the Watt Whisky stable. 
SGP: 561 - 87 points. 

Domaine Séailles 20 yo 2000/2021 (54%, Grape Of The Art, cask #19, 195 bottles)
From 100% Ugni Blanc grapes this time, and from the Ténarèze region of Armagnac. Love the excellent people behind Grape Of The Art, undoubtedly one of a handful of new(ish) indies who are at the forefront of bottling and celebrating French spirits. Naturally, they’re from Germany ;) Colour: mahogany. Nose: superb! We are even further into these wonderful gluey, almost solvent territories, along with crystallised orange peel, spiced marmalade, bitter dark chocolate and lovely impressions of unlit cigars and mint liqueur. Love this nose! With water: deeper, earthier, drier and more of this mulchy and rancio character. A few lovely prunes too. Mouth: you can see why this would appeal to rum drinkers, could almost be an old hot climate Demerara with this big notes of rum, molasses, liquorice, wood spice, menthol and medicinal aspects and concentrated dark fruit syrups. Wonderful focus and concentration overall. With water: once again I find prune, prune eau de vie in this case, more pronounced peppery wood spices, leaf mulch, bitter cocoa and resinous hardwoods. Finish: long and spicy, dry earthy and peppery notes, preserved dark fruits and dried herbs. Comments: another very powerful style, I love the even more focussed rustic and gluey profile in this one, superbly concentrated and extremely ‘Armagnac’ - if you get me. 
SGP: 561 - 88 points.

Mauxion ‘Lot 89’ (47%, OB, Bois Ordinaires, +/-2023)
Bois Ordinaires is famously supposed to be a bit… ordinary. But there are many very fine Cognacs from these lands. Colour: orangey gold. Nose: apricot and peach and honey, all very classical, but with a slightly leaner and leafier profile that perhaps lacks the more opulent fruitiness of Fins Bois or Grande Champagne. Mouth: tangerine, change pi tea, bitter orange and some hints of pressed flowers and cedar wood. Feels overall a little hot and gritty at times though. There are some further nice notes that recall fruit gummy sweeties - Cognac by Haribo perhaps. Finish: medium, a little peppery and still with a similar fruit profile into the aftertaste. Comments: all perfectly fine but not too exciting thought. 
SGP: 451 - 84 points. 

Laurichesse 'Le Vaillant Lot 76' (48.1%, Malternative Belgium, Grande Champagne, 2023)
Colour: deep coppery gold. Nose: gorgeous! Fruit pies, pastries, pollens, nectars, glazed breads, crystallised citrus fruits, unlit cigars and aged dessert wines. Sweetness balanced by drier and richer aspects. It’s also extremely classical and feels very typical of excellent Grande Champagne. Mouth: some slightly funky and exotic wood extracts, then orange bitters, dried tropical fruit mix, more tobaccos and leathery notes. Like a high-powered very old XO by one of the bigger houses, the sort that used to shelter 50+ yo cognacs. There’s even a slight tang of acidity about it which keeps it extremely fresh and lively. Many dark, preserved fruits, flowers, honeys and nectars. Finish: long, warming and full of citrus, liquorice root and hints of fennel and herbal cough syrup. Superb brightness to the end. Comments: love the sheer effortless and decadent vibes from this. Totally classical old Grande Champagne, but also pure, powerful and undimmed by sugary additives. 
SGP: 651 - 90 points.

Mauxion ‘Lot 45’ (54%, OB, Borderies, 261 bottles, +/-2023)
Usually ‘Lot 45’ would lead us to believe it was really a 1945 harvest, however it seems this one was harvested and distilled in the late 1970s, so perhaps its suggesting 45 years old in this case? I’m very fond of Borderies, it’s the region which seems to most regularly produce cognacs which suggest similarities to whisky. Colour: deep coppery gold. Nose: indeed, I am immediately thinking of some older highland malts, this is earthier, drier, more tense and showing a more subtle fruitiness that involves bitter marmalades, citrus rinds, sultanas and muesli full of dried fruits and nuts, really a profile and style that converges with other spirits at this age. With water slackens and relaxes a little, with some more classical notes of flower honey, dry earthy notes, tobacco leaf and pine wood. Mouth: excellent richness and power, again this is rather more tense, with bitter herbal notes, well extracted fruit teas, earthier components, pollens and feelings of petrichor and even mineral aspects. With water: orange oils, sultanas, raisins, kumquat, runny honey and some green fruitiness as well. Finish: good length, rather sharp and zingy fruitiness which feels nicely refreshing and even some peppery and waxy notes into the aftertaste. Comments: I really like this profile, but it’s true that these Borderies can be rather tough and demand a bit of wrestling to get to grips with them. But whisky people should definitely seek out and taste this one. 
SGP: 561 - 88 points. 

Vallein Tercinier 'Lot n° 65' (54.4%, OB, 2015)
These 65s from Vallein already carry a mighty reputation; time to add my two cents into the hat… Colour: bright orangey amber. Nose: wet forest floors, musty wine cellars, top quality dried mushrooms, many tiny spices, tobacco ranging from pipe variety to unlit cigars in a humidor and then tiny notes of dried mint and mint tea. I even start to find a deeper herbal and vegetal quality like Maggi mixed with aged Fernet Branca. I also forgot to mention fruits, all manner of peaches, plums in dessert wine, apricot and dried exotic fruits. With water: hot house flowers, lemon peel, bergamot, medicinal herbs and Mouth: stunning and vivid fruitiness that goes over the top into excessive new territories compared to most cognacs, fruits that are overripe and almost funky. Powerfully on oranges and tangerine puree, mango pulp, flower honeys, kumquat, star fruit and papaya. There’s something tropical that recalls some of the great 1960s single malts (Longmorn, Springbank, Bowmore etc). With water: smooshed dandelions, many more apricots, peaches, stunning notes of yellow plums and a slightly dialled back exoticism now. Also, it is just relentlessly, unyieldingly quaffable! Finish: very long, on plums, herbal liqueurs, wormwood, orange cordial, ancient dessert wines and aniseed. Comments: it’s the sense of effortlessness combined with a feeling that it takes you to territories above and beyond almost all other old cognacs. And it’s not even the best of these 1965s… 
SGP: 661 - 92 points.

Mauxion 1950 (43%, OB, Grande Champagne, +/-2023)
Said to be over 70 years in cask. Colour: orangey amber. Nose: concentrated on oranges, citrus fruit peels, marmalades, dried mushrooms and earthen cellar floors. Also these rather typical characteristics of unlit cigars, dried flowers and a little rancio character which I’m frequently finding in old Grande Champagnes of this age. Mouth: very old school a lot of ‘dark’ honey characteristics, honey on dark grained breads, very old sauternes, kumquat and miso. Treads that perfect tightrope of feeling simultaneously very old but also quite bright and still rather lively. There’s even a touch of acidity about the palate which is really vibrant. Finish: long, earthy, increasingly rustic with liquorice, tree bark, herbal bitters and plum wine, then some dark fruits glowing in the aftertaste. Comments: wonderful and charming old cognac that again ticks this decadence box, throws off some very strong ‘sipping with your feet up’ vibes. 
SGP: 561 - 90 points. 

Héritage René Rivière 'Madame Pivoine Lot 25' (48.1%, Malternative Belgium, Borderies, 2023)
Theoretically this should be a 1925. Colour: deep gold. Nose: once again with Borderies I’m finding a tenser, drier, more herbal and earthy profile that again makes me think of some very old - and old style - malt whiskies. Touches of truffle, wild mushroom, parsley, liquorice, darjeeling tea and dried mint. Also some slightly medicinal herbal notes such as wintergreen and angelica root. Mouth: again this feeling of spirits and styles covering with age. There are parts of this that immediately make me think of old Glen Grant, while others suggest well-aged Demerara rum. What’s for sure is that it’s a more complex and challenging style revolving around roots, herbs, medicinal qualities, dried out fruits, tobacco and old ointments, bitters and liqueurs. Finish: medium in length and perhaps running out of steam in terms of power, but still some lovely notes of old sun lotion, dried out honeys, cider apple and ink. Comments: Malternative Belgium seem to have perfected the art of unearthing these wee nuggets of pure liquid history. Utterly charming and fascinating, if not totally technically brilliant old Cognac. Again, whisky people that would like to be pleasantly surprised by Cognac: try this! 
SGP: 461 - 88 points. 

Borderie Lauzac 1906 (37.3%, OB?, bottled circa 1950)
This was an old bottle I bought at auction quite a few years ago and decided to open recently with some good friends. The ABV was measured with my Anton Parr. Colour: pale amber. Nose: a much more old-fashioned style, and you feel that there has probably been something added with this deep mulchy note and rather strong impression of old Demerara rum (which it was not uncommon to use as an additive for cognac in these days). That being said it’s still extremely alluring with very vivid notes of sticky dark fruits, sultana, raisin, prune and date. Very dark and very rich and unctuous with good rancio character. Mouth: a little sweeter than expected, and still showing remarkably good power given the age and ABV, again feeling the inclusion of some additive components here, but it doesn’t diminish these rather simple but charming old style cognac characteristics. Very dominated by leaf mulch, mushroom notes, many variations of tobacco, humidor, cellar must, funky old pinot noir and even wee hints of hessian. Finish: medium and rather sweetish, going into dessert wine territory while still showing some of these lovely earthy, mulchy and tobacco characteristics. Comments: a very old-fashioned style of cognac I’d say, and markedly different from the other Borderies we tried in this session. The sort of cognac that you could imagine demolishing many centilitres of while tackling a large cigar - which I’m sure some good folks probably did with this very cognac in decades past. 
SGP: 471 - 88 points. 

Château Jousson 'Sélection 1875' (OB, Fine Champagne, magnum, +/-1950)
A magnum bottle that I opened and poured at my wedding last year, much to the delight of several very good French friends who happened to be in attendance. I believe it is the first time I’ve seen a Frenchman at a Scottish wedding attempting the French version of a ‘hauf an hauf’, in this case it was around a half pint of this cognac with half bottle of champagne… Colour: reddish mahogany. Nose: amazing freshness and pure old school richness. These properly ancient pre-phylloxera cognacs seem to possess a depth and rusticity that sets them apart from later eras, and that’s really the case here. Immediately and very precisely on cellar must, old dessert wines with fading acidity, powerful rancio character, many dark fruits, balsamic notes that almost go towards very old sherry and more of these impressions of strong, dark flower honey. Mouth: brilliant arrival, assertively on old mead, dried out old honeys, chestnut mushrooms, bouillon, umami seasonings, bone marrow gravy and bay leaf. A meal in a glass! And also very mulchy and deep tobacco notes. Roasted nuts, cassis, dark fruit cordials. Magnificent! Finish: medium to long, darkly fruity, gamey, rancio, wee hints of chocolate, dried mushroom and even some appley hints that nod towards equally ancient calvados. Comments: glad I opened this one. 
SGP: 561 - 92 points. 

Cognac Grande Fine Champagne 1865 (Eschenauer & Co Bordeaux, circa 1950)
1865, definitely quite a long time ago, according to the Googlenet! Another bottle I bought at auction quite some years ago and decided to open recently. Colour: deep amber. Nose: sticky and velvety with prunes, molasses, dates, figs in syrup - a definite sense of sweetness or additive. Indeed, you get these further notes of sweet Demerara sugar and old rums. Also a lot of leaf mulch, old tobacco pouches, old pipes and quite a bit of rancio. Fun, but lacks the assertiveness, power and complexity of the Jousson. Mouth: you can immediately feel this is a lovely old Cognac that has been kind of drowned a bit in sugar and additives. Getting towards bitter caramelised brown sugars, sweet liquorice, sugary black tea and curious herbal liqueurs. Not a total disaster, but we’re some way away from the Jousson, once again. Finish: medium, sweet, herbal, on sugary extracted teas once again, plum jam, liquorice and blackcurrant wine. Comments: funny old stuff. Be careful, not all these old pre-phylloxera artefact bottles are amazing. Not a total disaster, but a good example of what happens when someone gets trigger happy with the sugar! 
SGP: 531 - 78 points.

Domaine de Gaube 1929 (46%, Darroze, Bas Armagnac, +/- 1980)
Darroze was truly ahead of the game in these days and bottled many, many totally stunning old Armagnacs in true indy bottler style, often with higher than usual ABVs and without additives. Colour: bright amber. Nose: another galaxy after that funny 1865. Stunning brightness and beautiful freshness of fruit; figs, mirabelle, damsons, sultanas and quince all over the shop. Damp forest floors, blackberry wine, camphor, herbal bitters, wee touches of pine wood and even wood smoke and medicinal herbs. Amazing freshness and power. I’m also getting this sense of varnish and glue that you can find some older Armagnacs, that makes you think of hot tropical matured rums. Brilliant liveliness and power. Mouth: yes! Armagnac, plain and simple. Pure rusticity, rancio, dark fruits, earthy black teas and many shades of tobacco. Magnificent length and complexity too, drawing your attention down many tertiary side routes and making you notice all sorts of notes. Fennel seen, bruised apple, old boot polish and cedar wood. Is there an anti-Armagnacporn brigade? Presumably they’re having lunch. Finish: long, deeply earthy, wonderfully herbaceous, tight fruitiness that even brings a little acidity and more of these wonderful varnish vibes. Comments: just utterly outstanding old Armagnac. Would you call this ‘old style’? It certainly feels like it has a depth and length that feels a little uncommon among contemporary Armagnacs. That being said, the difference is nowhere near as striking as, for example, Glenlivet 12yo from today vs a bottle from the 1930s. We’re getting side-tracked, what a magnificent bottle! 
SGP: 662 - 93 points.