
August 10, 2025

A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace!

A small selection of cognacs and armagnacs

Espérance

Domaine d’Espérance (Domaine d’Espérance)

Since it is Sunday! We shall start with one or two old bottlings of cognac from big houses, as an apéritif…

Otard ‘X.O.’ (40%, OB, cognac, +/-1980)

This baby was matured at the Château de Cognac, according to the silkscreen-style back label. Otard, apparently now Baron Otard, is a house you hear less about these days; even we at WF have only tasted very old bottlings or very old vintages. Colour: amber. Nose: lovely nose, honeyed and full of raisins, thus rather rich, but with a mineral and earthy tension in the background that adds much complexity, not to mention those tiny mentholated and camphory touches that appear after a few seconds. In short, on the nose, this is beautiful, a lovely surprise. Mouth: really very soft, one feels syrups, a fatty and sugary side one could do without, a bit of a pity. Vin de paille, pineau, sweet muscats, all that. This liqueur-like side is not really for us. Finish: rather long, still gentle, even slightly cloying. Still loads of raisins. Comments: we liked the nose a lot, the palate less so. I do not think this is OBE, despite more than forty years in bottle.
SGP:740 - 76 points.

Camus ‘Célébration’ (40%, OB, La Grande Marque, 1970s)

A version launched by Camus to mark their centenary in the 1960s; let us see how this cognac has resisted the passing of time… Colour: dark amber. Nose: already on the nose, much drier and more vegetal than the Otard, perhaps more marked by slightly more rustic crus, which we like a lot here. A touch of marc, then undergrowth, coffee in great elegance, and liquorice that grows ever more present. Mouth: this time the condition is perfect, the style rather complex, a little caramelly yet also beautifully earthy and resinous, with the arrival of the proverbial ripe vineyard peach and the no less proverbial maple syrup, which further pushes the caramel side, whether the latter be entirely natural or slightly ‘boosted’ in the kitchen. You see what I mean. Finish: fairly long, lovely, quite fresh despite that caramel, even with a slightly malty side. Comments: a fine old bottle, and easy enough to find.
SGP:651 - 85 points.

Pierre de Segonzac ‘XO La Rencontre Lot90’ (40%, Art Malts, Grande Champagne, 2024)

Formerly house Pierre Ferrand. I think the House Pierre de Segonzac is no longer related to Cognac Ferrand. The rest of the story is a bit complicated, so let us rather focus on the juice… Colour: bright amber. Nose: formidable nose on dark nougat and praline, with just a very light varnish and a touch of bud. Not very far from the old Camus, truth be told, only this is more compact, most elegantly compact. Mouth: a slightly old-style cognac, blending apricot tart with fir honey and, once again, maple syrup and toffee. Not such a light structure at 40% vol. Finish: fairly long, closer to the grape cluster but still dominated by honey and maple syrup. Touch of peach liqueur in the aftertaste. Comments: very much in the Camus style.
SGP:651 - 86 points.

Let’s have a little Armagnac…

Domaine d’Espérance 23 yo 2001/2025 (49.7, The Colours of Armagnac, Bas-armagnac, No.1, cask #71, 210 bottles)

Pure folle blanche! It is really nice to see rum or whisky specialists taking more and more interest in armagnac. Domaine d’Espérance is located in Mauvezin-d’Armagnac, in the Landes. Colour: amber gold. Nose: very much on dark honeys of all sorts, the panettones we keep mentioning here, then agricole rum à la Neisson (I assure you) and, if you search well, minute puffs of garlic-fried ceps. Which, of course, is utter murder. Savoury. Mouth: much firmer on the palate, with toasted oak that takes you in a gentle pincer movement, plus a slightly acidic coffee grounds side, the whole thing being utterly beautiful. This style suits armagnac so well! Now, where are those garlic ceps? Finish: very long, on resinous woods and menthol tobacco of the Kool type. I have no idea if the brand still exists. Plenty of dark chocolate and mint in the aftertaste. Comments: a slightly combative armagnac, if you see what I mean. It is very, very ‘armagnac’.
SGP:561 - 90 points.

Let’s stay in 2001…

Laubade 23 yo 2001/2025 (50.7%, Grape of the Art, Bas-armagnac, cask #90, 251 bottles)

Here is pure baco, or Gers piquepoul, a cross between folle blanche and noah said to be a little less refined, but in our glass, we have never noticed that. But we are no experts… Colour: full gold. Nose: the complete opposite of the previous one, much rounder, sweeter, seductive, fruity, floral, in other words more dangerous. I find mainly tonnes and tonnes of tiny dried figs, the queens of dried fruits. Though the fig is not a fruit, it is a flower, did you know? Also mandarin liqueur. In short, magnificent. With water: white Bordeaux of twenty years or more. Mouth (neat): of great beauty, full of ease, citrus, flower jellies and honeys and pear liqueur. Superb notes of old sémillon. With water: even older, and less old, sémillon. One drinks this like wine, frankly. Finish: not that long, but still totally seductive, with what we could now call a ‘muscaty’ aspect at this stage. Comments: absolute danger here, goes down like iced tea. Peach, naturally. They should add a warning sticker to the bottle.
SGP:641 - 91 points.

Garreau 36 yo 1988/2025 (45.9%, Liquid Treasures for Korea Brandy Society, Bas-armagnac)

The independent Garreaus have undoubtedly been among the revelations of recent years. Colour: full gold. Nose: again a very different profile, this time we are in sweet wine territory, VDN, Rivesaltes, floc de Gascogne, sweet PX, apricot liqueur, agave syrup, with a very slight toast… On the nose this is beautiful, we just hope the palate will not be too, let us say, schmalzy. Mouth: no, but it is very fruity, while displaying fairly marked oak, so it stretches between black teas and fresh fruits, but I find that it works very well. Sultanas then arrive en masse and join a very infused Earl Grey tea. Finish: long, fruitier, between Williams pear and mirabelle, with pink peppercorn as counterpoint. Comments: the Laubade is a session-killer, so a thousand bravos for surviving with panache and even glory.
SGP:651 - 88 points.

Domaine Lous Mouracs 1986/2025 (47.3%, L’Encantada for German Armagnac Festival 2025, Ténarèze)

Ugni blanc and colombard, and 35 years in wood, so, I suppose, a few years in a demijohn. Colour: amber. Nose: again, a pack of Kool or green Dunhill’s, so tobacco and mint, then small aniseed and varnish touches before tipping towards peach and apricot soup. Then it carries on with a procession of tisanes and infusions, among which we shall note especially thyme and rosemary. Impeccable. Mouth: mainly on fruit soup flavoured with mint and liquorice. You could list dozens, of course apricots and peaches, but also all sorts of plums. The slight varnish and clove side is still there too. Finish: long, now really rustic, but that is what one expects from a Ténarèze. Relatively marked tannicity. Comments: a magnificent country armagnac, to drink on a picnic (if you are not driving afterwards, of course).
SGP:561 - 89 points.

Ténarèze ?...

Hontambère 1988/2025 (44.3%, POH!, Ténarèze)

100% ugni blanc here, and a name that has made its mark among malt freaks lately. Quite rightly so. Colour: amber. Nose: cooked fruits in abundance, we feel like visiting a jam factory in full production. A few real touches of tomato sauce too, which is utterly brilliant, then crazy amounts of damson, sprinkled with cinnamon and white pepper. Finally, a touch of pinot noir, I have no idea where that comes from. Mouth: again the rusticity of the Ténarèze, tannins, prunes, old plum spirit, strands of dark tobacco (let us say unfiltered Gauloises) and liquorice wood. Even notes of cured ham, Bayonne-style, in short this is serious stuff. Finish: long on, ach, erm, euh, Mon Chéri. Sorry. Comments: we are borderline ‘corrida’ here. A rusticity one might say is fully assumed.
SGP:461 - 89 points.

Here, for the last one, we’ll shift things a bit…

Domaine de l’Arlot 2007/2025 (51%, Authentic Spirits, fine de Bourgogne)

I remind you that a fine is distilled wine, so cognac and armagnac are fines. The difference here in Burgundy is that the grape varieties used are intended to make (great) wines, whereas those of cognac or armagnac are ‘distillation’ grapes, which rarely make it into wine to be drunk as such. In any case, here we are in Nuits-St.-Georges, the most terroiry of the red Burgundies in my humble opinion. We adore them. Colour: gold. Nose: utterly treacherous because for now, I feel we are in Cognac. Stewed peaches and pears, sultanas, apricots, jasmine, only a few waxy touches and those closer to ‘the stalks’ suggest a difference. With water: little change. Mouth (neat): only a few touches we might call ‘fat and rustic’ signal a difference indeed… At least at the start, for gradually, we draw nearer to leaf, soil, even marc and stalks… With water: the waxy and herbal side strengthens; we are no longer in Cognac at all. Touches of glue, almond skins, fresh walnuts, fresh mint… Finish: long, herbal, textured. Comments: I find this very good but rather intellectual; I think it calls for immersion… in Nuits-St.-Georges.
SGP:461 - 86 points.

Check the index of all cognacs and armagnacs we've tasted