Cognacs are back


August 23, 2026

Cognacs are back

We’re doing the windscreen-wiper routine Sunday after Sunday, cognac, armagnac, cognac, armagnac, cognac… And then rum. Come on then, cognac, and let’s start with one of our traditional old apéritifs…

Hennessy, magazine ad, circa 1960

Hennessy ‘Bras Armé’ (40%, OB, cognac, +/-1965)

Hennessy ‘Bras Armé’ (40%, OB, cognac, +/-1960)

First time we’re tasting this famous, high-volume, seminal version. Note that things can move very quickly here, it could be wrecked… Also note that it was rather uncommon to find an alcohol strength stated on labels in those days. Colour: full gold. Nose: very lovely, with probably quite a lot of high-quality juice in there, including some pre-war distillates. Ripe peaches, apricots in syrup, liquorice, cinnamon tea, honeysuckle, a floral greenhouse… In short, a very beautiful nose, almost surprisingly so. Mouth: ah yes, this is excellent, very textured, very liquoricy, almost salty, rich and opulent, despite a splendid dryness, with dried apples and figs coated in fir liqueur. Finish: quite long, drier, with more tobacco. Comments: it is rare for these old high-volume bottlings to be quite this beautiful and good. But then again, this was Hennessy right in the midst of pushing its brand…
SGP:361 - 87 points.

Let’s try a second oldie then…

Bisquit ‘VSOP’ (no ABV, OB, fine champagne, +/-1975)

This could be a little less good… Let me remind you that, in theory, fine champagne is a blend of grande and petite champagne, sadly without any borderies or ‘bois’. Colour: full gold. Nose: nice, close to the Hennessy, but with less depth and more grilled and toasted notes. Very light rubber, but the general profile is pleasant and far less muddy than that of equivalent, more recent ranges these days. Mouth: once again, we’re close to the Hennessy, but this is drier and, since we’re fifty years back, say less ‘sexy’, even if the figs and raisins just keep becoming more obvious as time goes by. Finish: medium in length, more caramelised, no doubt a little more obscured. Comments: …but this is a very good old cognac from a brand that was very much at the forefront in those days. Much less so nowadays, it seems, but let us remind you that the French drink very little cognac…
SGP:551 - 84 points.

Michelet ‘Lot 12’ (58.5%, Piacere Rinato, Grande champagne, 2026)

We are in Segonzac, in 2012 and not 1912, this is very young of course, but it should already express itself with grace, persistence and insistence. Right. Colour: gold. Nose: tart apple, sour cherry and rubber, in a simple style, perfectly delineated, and entirely devoted to simple souls such as ours, right. With water: a little soap, chamomile, hay and pips. Mouth (neat): this is a countryside cognac, almost violent at first, and above all very peppery. Salted liquorice. With water: it settles down a little, heading towards Stollen and fig cake. That Marrakech or Agadir fig side is very much to the fore. Finish: its finest side, it becomes more complex, rough but in a most pleasant way. Very lovely gentle spices. Comments: not very straightforward, but very beautiful and committed.
SGP:651 - 85 points.

Since we’re at Michelet…

Michelet ‘Lot 18’ (52.3%, Piacere Rinato, Grande champagne, 2025)

This is of course younger, a 2018 by all accounts. Colour: pale gold. Nose: we find a little grape stalk again, but also some very lovely notes of rose and black cherries, praline, yellow peach. You could almost believe this baby was older than the 2012, which proves, once again, that ageing is anything but linear. Fresh hay. With water: the hay moves to centre stage. Mouth (neat): rather magnificent, with rose again (as sweets) and cherry, then bitter almond, orgeat, peach skin, fir honey… Some very elegant little bitters. With water: these little bitters take control, somewhere between walnut liqueur and bitter orange, even Cynar. Finish: long, fresher, essentially on citrus fruits. Comments: this is a profile rather close to that of a malt, notwithstanding the grape bunches and the very aromatic yet nicely rustic and countryside character.
SGP:561 - 88 points.

Famille Tribot ‘L.T. 96 - A la Main Edition 1.1’ (48.1%, Jean-Luc Pasquet, Grande Champagne, 120 bottles, 2026)

A new range from the famous little house in Eraville, with rather artsy packaging. We like that, of course… And this should be around thirty years old, give or take, and ugni blanc. Colour: full gold. Nose: vineyard peaches and heather honey, touches of liquorice, honeysuckle, pink pepper… It is not ultra-complex, but it is rather flamboyant aromatically. Mouth: sharper on the palate, more on orange and grapefruit zests, then increasingly herbal, with pips, buds, and even… lawn grass. And yet, there is some very beautiful expressiveness, especially as the oranges then arrive en masse, some Seville, but not all. Finish: long, lively, still rather herbal, and very distinguished. Liquorice wood. Comments: a grande champagne that brings together perfumed elegance and a certain well-judged rusticity. This is adorable.
SGP:561 - 89 points.

Famille Rateau ‘L.R. 20.11 - A la Main Edition 2.1’ (49.6%, Jean-Luc Pasquet, Grande Champagne, 270 bottles, 2026)

I’m not quite sure what ’20.11’ means, perhaps simply that this is a 2011? In any case, while we had already tasted some Tribot, we did not know Rateau, but we are still very far from being cognac experts, aren’t we. Colour: full gold. Nose: more unusual on the nose, a little toasted, with touches of extinguished cigar, but also passion fruit and even fresh mango and very ripe apricot. Very, very convincing and highly malternative so far. Mouth: unlike the Tribot, it remains very consistent on the palate, we find the mango again, the maracuja, the liquorice, and of course the apricot and pear, as well as a very slight Muscat-like side that lifts the whole thing even further. Finish: long, fresh, elegant, almost easy and, above all, as they say north of Hadrian’s Wall, very moreish. Comments: as we sometimes say, they ought to add a warning to the label, or at least to the back label. Easy and truly excellent.
SGP:651 – 90 points.

Shorter session today, let’s have one last one…

Laurichesse ‘Lot 19.75 – Le Souverain’ (50.6%, Malternative Belgium, Grande Champagne, 360 bottles, 2026)

Granted, we should have had this baby after its superb ‘feminine’ counterpart (touchy stuff), La Souveraine, WF 90, two weeks ago. But we never do things in the right order, as you know… Anyway, perhaps here comes the lion’s share (ooh that’s smart, S.) … Colour: amber gold. Nose: obviously, at this level… Heather honey, thyme honey, apricot and mirabelle liqueurs, touches of peppermint and camphor, soft liquorice, fruity olive oil (Nyons style) … With water: the mint extract and camphor come a little more to the fore. Mouth (neat): very beautiful oakiness, mentholated, pronounced, very liquoricy, but counterbalanced by a kind of very expressive banana plus mango plus peach plus pear combination. Water will tell us whether this oakiness is a little excessive after all, or not at all. We have our own little idea… With water: of course not, the water brings everything back into balance (it’s Evian, very exceptionally, as our Vittel has temporarily run out) and brings out herbal teas and herbs. And the mint, which remains the ultimate arbiter here. Finish: long, only the aftertaste is a tiny bit more drying. Touches of glue. Comments: it would of course be totally improper, and perhaps even punishable by a hefty fine or even imprisonment, to declare that, between the masculine and feminine versions of these very beautiful and very feline Laurichesses, one dominates the other. As you can see, we’re walking on eggshells…
SGP:661 - 90 points.

Next week, back to rum, there’s plenty in the pipeline!

Check the index of all cognacs we've tasted