A merry band of cognacs


November 1, 2026

A merry band of cognacs

There’s quite a lot of lovely stuff around at the moment! So, after the rums and armagnacs, it’s the cognacs’ turn on WF this All Saints’ Sunday. We’ll begin with one of our traditional elderly apéritifs.

The 1926 Tour de France through
the Pyrenees (Loucrup65)

Camus ‘XO’ (40%, OB, mid-1980s)

We tasted a much more recent version, from eight or nine years ago, and found it very good (WF 84). This old decanter, shaped rather like a skittle, doesn’t mention it, but in theory there should be plenty of Borderies in this baby. Colour: amber. Nose: a distinctly drier style than the recent versions, although that may be the OBE, especially with a decanter, which is always more vulnerable to the passing years. Basaltic touches, coffee, old walnuts and what we shall simply have to call cardboardy notes. Mouth: still very dry, earthy, with dark tobacco, coffee, very black tea and a little very dry, rather discreet rancio. Finish: fairly long, and truly ‘extra dry’. Comments: I don’t think this supposedly rather prestigious Camus was quite like this forty years ago. Still, as we say, there’s life in the old dog yet.
SGP:261 - 74 points.

Vallein Tercinier ‘X.O Old Cigar Blend’ (46%, OB, for Kirsch Import 50 years, 2026)

It’s amusing to note that, in the finest French tradition, nothing is quite standardised, since you’ll find XO, X.O. and X.O on the shelves, as here. Colour: full gold. Nose: tough going for the old Camus, this is much livelier, both fruitier and more vegetal, with cooked peaches and sultanas, a little mentholated tobacco, tonka bean and perhaps a few lychees in syrup. All right, one lychee in syrup. Half a lychee in syrup. Mouth: fairly lively again, with a grassy fruitiness that makes us think of the ‘Bois’, white grapes, green tea, then the peaches return, accompanied by oranges, followed by a fairly classic coffee-and-chocolate duet. Finish: rather long, a little peppery, drier. Touches of pear afterwards. Comments: we imagine this profile, rather restrained compared with older VTs, would indeed go very nicely with a cigar. But what do we replace the cigar with when we gave those up ages ago?
SGP:461 - 87 points.

Vallein Tercinier ‘Hors d’Âge Very Old Cigar Blend’ (46%, OB, for Kirsch Import 50 years, 2026)

I forgot to mention that these cognacs are blends of several crus. Colour: full gold. Nose: rather surprising, this one seems more precise, almost narrow, certainly more elegant, and built more around quince tarte tatin. We’re always very fond of these spirits with such clean lines, especially as mango then appears, with touches of liquorice. And vineyard peaches, naturally. Mouth: it starts with a williams pear spirit that’s spent a hundred years in a demijohn, then develops on cracked pepper and bitter chocolate. Still plenty of precision, even though it’s a blend. Finish: fairly long, with that rather aristocratic old pear still spoiling for a fight, and a grassy side to the aftertaste. Comments: lovely freshness!
SGP:551 - 88 points.

Hine ‘Early Landed XO’ (40%, OB, Grande Champagne, 2026)

‘Born in Jarnac, raised in the United Kingdom’, they say. It seems the backbone of this blend comes from the 1985 vintage. I confess it’s difficult to understand why this prestigious edition, which ought to improve relations between our two countries still further, has been bottled at such a modest 40% vol., sending it straight into the entry-level category. The United Kingdom deserves better! Colour: deep gold. Nose: the trouble is that the spirit seems rather magnificent, with overripe apples, top-flight ciders, herbal teas that cure everything and the proverbial vineyard peach. Mouth: how good this is, and what a pity that the shortage of muscle, watts, volts and amps makes it fade rather quickly on the palate. Finish: short, but we saw that coming. Comments: I confess I understand very little of all this. But it is undoubtedly the finest… cider I’ve tasted this year. Especially as we’ve already tasted any number of superb Hines on these pages…
SGP:341 - 80 points.

Fanny Fougerat ‘Le Notoire Edition le Doyen Très Vieux Fins Bois’ (44.8%, OB, 414 bottles, 2026)
There was an excellent 40-year-old Le Notoire, 680 bottles (WF 91!), and here’s an even older version, 49 years old and 414 bottles. I don’t think I have a photograph, but we promise to update that as soon as the opportunity arises. Colour: full gold. Nose: the freshness of age, we might almost say, certainly of careful and, as they say in the brochures, ‘patient’ maturation. Magnificent little apples and pears, the tarts made from them, a very light fudge, quince and yellow peach, then a bouquet of flowers, honeysuckle, acacia blossom, lily of the valley, jasmine, lilac, all very gentle and never becoming heady. Magnificent delicacy. Mouth: fresh and precise again, fairly lively, with more citrus (blood orange) and a little aniseed touch that almost brings back the summer’s pastis. Never does it feel nearly fifty years old. Then a little fresh turmeric and white pepper, but again, with elegance and discretion. Finish: not immensely long, but fresh and balanced. Comments: I regret to inform you that this is one of those cognacs that almost make us think of Clynelish. Enough said. And yes, now I come to think of it, there’s a little beeswax too.
SGP:551 - 91 points.

Prunier 2020/2026 (58.2%, Cognac Syndicate by LMDW, Fins Bois, folle blanche)

Indeed, we’re disregarding the order of ages and vintages once again. But it’s folle blanche, you understand… This also brings the Islay Syndicate to mind a little (and especially its Lagavulins), although we don’t really know what became of them… Colour: gold. Nose: buds, zests and flowers, then apple skins and walnut skins. Very compact, but water should change that. With water: perfect! Peach skins, nectarines, irises, jasmine tea. Mouth (neat): vanilla-flavoured, mentholated liquorice, we’d say. It’s straightforward, almost binary, simple, and perfect. We’re simple people too, after all. With water: even more straightforward, ultra-precise. Plain orange juice and liquorice. Finish: long and, dash it, there’s that Clynelish side again. It can’t be a ‘need’ for Clynelish, we tasted a whole new bunch only yesterday. Publication next week. Comments: absolutely excellent, and even surprising, since Maison Prunier had rather accustomed us, if we may put it that way, to very old cognacs.
SGP:561 - 89 points

François Voyer ‘Réserve Ancestrale’ (49%, OB, for Kirsch Import 50 years, Grande Champagne, 90 bottles, 2026)

A tiny bottling from a house that has treated us, in recent years, to cognacs positively crammed with every kind of fruit. Colour: full gold. Nose: who mentioned fruit? This is pure ripe bananas, mangoes, oranges, papayas and passion fruits, all drizzled with honey, drops of olive oil and half a drop of peppermint extract. And it’s bonkers. Mouth: exactly the same, just a shade more citrusy. Finish: same again. Magnificent mint-and-liquorice aftertaste. Comments: cognac could hardly get any fruitier. Or any more delicious, this is an absolute knockout. But is there a single bottle left?
SGP:641 - 90 points.

Audry ‘Lot 06’ (50%, Cognac Syndicate by LMDW, Grande Champagne, ugni blanc, 2026)

I humbly confess to knowing next to nothing about the house of Audry. Only Angus had tasted one a few years ago, an XO (WF 87). Colour: gold. Nose: fresh grapes and equally fresh butter, then orange cake and a cavalcade of little herbs and flowers, wormwood, genepy, woodruff, mullein… lovely! With water: a fatty side emerges, paraffin, candles… Mouth (neat): abundant fruit, a little in the style of the Voyer, passion fruit, mango, lemon, orange, but also lovely little mossy and earthy touches. With water: it doesn’t budge an inch. Finish: long, fruity, very citrusy, then just a little more peppery. Comments: well, there we are, now we know the house of Audry, delighted to have met you! Sometimes, even in France, syndicates do have their good points.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Famille Cabanne 2001/2025 (53.8%, OB for Wine4You, Borderies)

Borderies seem to be very fashionable at the moment… Colour: full gold. Nose: a very different style of cognac, leaning more towards bourbon, varnish, oil paint, almond milk, even fresh grass, and certainly fruit peelings. The trouble is that it’s every bit as lovely as the previous ones, despite being diametrically opposed in style. With water: it falls into line a little, with yellow peaches and marzipan. Mouth (neat): citrus fruits running completely wild, plus equally unruly hops. I think we need water to calm all this madness down. With water: mint, peach, apple, liquorice. A little rustic touch. Finish: same again. Comments: very good, but we expected as much. For the solid silver hip flask bearing the family crest.
SGP:561 - 87 points.

Famille Hilaire ‘Lot N°L.H.86’ (48.9%, Jean-Luc Pasquet, A la Main, Grande Champagne, édition 3.1, 488 bottles, 2026)

‘By hand’, made by hand, another example of resistance gathering against dehumanised AIs producing ever more slop. Whether that resistance is futile and pointless, which might be the case, and whether we’d be better off fulling embracing the concepts of superintelligence, remains to be seen. Before settling this momentous debate, let’s taste this little baby, made entirely by hand. Colour: full gold. Nose: olive oil, Iberian ham, amontillado, Maggi, walnut wine, balsamic vinegar and parmesan cream. Different indeed! No AI would spontaneously produce a cognac like this. Mouth (neat): fairly marked oak and, above all, a very Andalusian character. There’s the amontillado again, walnuts, balsamic vinegar, then a little mustard, leather, tobacco and mocha. Remove the label here and nobody will believe we’re talking about cognac. Finish: long and dry, saline, still with plenty of walnuts, coffee, toasted pecans… Comments: who keeps going on about malternatives? Well, this time it certainly fits the bill. This baby is forty years old, give or take.
SGP:452 - 90 points.

Come on, one last one, we’ll have plenty more over the coming weeks, including some as old as this final baby…

La Confiance ‘Lot 19.26 FB’ (43.2%, Malternative Belgium, Fins Bois, 245 bottles)

A lovely art deco label with an early Soviet bent! The cognac, apparently from that very period, was transferred to a demijohn in the early 2000s. Prices for cognacs of this age make absolutely no sense. Just imagine, €749 here, which is 3,337 times less than a M. from the same vintage at auction (€2,500,000, apparently). We’ve tasted that M. 1926 (okay, mixed with some 1928), and it’s very good, but there’s no need to go into raptures for ever, it’s hardly La Traviata. Anyway, before the brickwork starts weeping, let’s taste this Confiance from, I suppose, 1926… Colour: amber. Nose: I promise you this is lovelier than the aforementioned M. Sublime honeys, tarte tatin, very old rums (old spirits converge anyway), chestnut cream, top-notch darjeeling, prestige compost (what?), then little touches of mint, verbena, old forgotten liqueurs and… Japanese bean paste. Red beans, naturally. Mouth: a tiny bit rasping at first, but that’s normal, then it develops on teas of every description, eventually reaching old pu-ehr. Stewed fruits, toasted chestnuts and pecans, fig jam and pipe tobacco immediately come to the rescue. Finish: long, slightly meaty and decidedly on old Catalan rancio. Precious coffees in the aftertaste. Comments: never has the expression ‘a journey through time’ made so much sense. Let’s remember that 1926 was a hundred years ago. We’d still have to check whether our Belgian friends bottled this baby before or after the weeks of the 1926 harvest, when did they happen. Even if it was in a demijohn… Oh, and I checked, it really is €749, there isn’t a zero missing. They’re mad in Belgium, as we can plainly see when watching our favourite TV programme, Le Grand Cactus!
SGP:462 - 91 points.

Anyway, see you soon, with more old cognacs to die for.

Check the index of all cognacs we've tasted