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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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August 9, 2026 |
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Just eight Cognacs, vertically
We’re taking advantage of some slightly kinder weather to taste a few recent beasties, but as usual we’ll start with a decidedly older apéritif… (1960s) |
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Rémy Martin ‘V.S.O.P. Special Reserve’ (80 US proof, OB, USA, Fine Champagne, +/-1975) 
Imported by Rémy Amérique in NYC, probably alongside the famous Macallans, which they also imported.. Colour: amber. Nose: very much on liquorice and slightly burnt raisins, overbaked fruitcake, dark nougat, and a little burnt wood. Mouth: rather resinous, with tobacco, and once again those burnt raisins. Not exactly easy, but these old bottles at low strength (80 US proof = 40% vol. as you know) are fragile and, quite frankly, were probably never really built for keeping. Finish: eventually of medium length, but rather on broths, which is not very pleasant. Overcooked leek, a salty touch. Comments: not without its good sides, but far too fragile for a modern palate. Modern like ours, right…
SGP:441 - 60 points. |
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Château de Montifaud ‘XO’ (40%, OB, Petite Champagne, +/-2025) 
These 40% are a bit of a shame for an XO, but the house has a good reputation, which may make up for that. Colour: deep gold. Nose: rather dry, with black teas and, once again, slightly burnt cakes and tarts, but then some honeyed and resinous notes come along to brighten the whole thing up. Fir honeydew. Mouth: very lovely arrival, broad, rather rich, almost Muscat-like, once again with a little fir-bud liqueur, before heading straight towards sweet wines, PX, Rivesaltes, and of course Pineau des Charentes. That’s rather nice. Finish: good length, very much on sultanas. The aftertaste is a little woody, but not excessively so. Black tea, dark chocolate with rum… Comments: right, one point more than for their already very good Napoléon.
SGP:551 - 83 points. |
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Michelet ‘Lot 16’ (63%, Piacere Rinato, Grande Champagne, 2026) 
Here we are in Segonzac. From the very high bottling strength, we gather that this must be a 2016 rather than a 1916, but we’ve already seen all manner of utterly preposterous things in the world of spirits, haven’t we. Colour: gold. Nose: indeed, it’s young, with berries and grape stalks, fully ripe pips, pear and yellow peach, plus a slightly alcoholic side that’s hardly surprising at this strength. With water: a little prickly, but this rustic side takes us straight to the countryside, and as it happens, we’ve had quite enough of overcrowded, concrete-covered cities. We’re exaggerating again… Mouth (neat): with souls nobly born, worth does not await the passing of the years, as they say. In short, here is a magnificent spirit… of Williams pear. With water: the spectrum broadens, the pear remains but plums and cherries join in, as do roots, especially celeriac, which we absolutely adore. Finish: long, straightforward, very ‘eau-de-vie’. Mint and liquorice in the aftertaste. Comments: quite a beastie for your solid silver hip flask bearing your family’s coat of arms. Yeah, right…
SGP:461 - 85 points. |
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Vallein-Tercinier ‘Lot 2015’ (61.8%, OB for Piacere Rinato, Bons Bois, 2025)
There is at VT (Vallein-Tercinier, okay) this predictable side that you only find at a handful of small Cognac houses, which you could count on the fingers of one hand. One day, AIs will write tasting notes in cases like this without us even having to dip our noses and lips into the liquid. God protect us! Joking aside, Bons Bois are fairly rare, while Bois Ordinaires, for their part, reach us… never. Colour: gold. Nose: quite simply, apples, plums, quince, sweet roots, camomile, a little ginger… With water: same. Mouth (neat): excellent, figs and oranges, lemongrass, verbena, genepy, grapefruit… With water: we’re more accustomed to VT’s old vintages, their rookies are less familiar to us. I must admit I’m quite impressed, most young cognacs from the biggest houses (VSOP, XO etc.) generally have far less personality. Admittedly, the bottling strength here, rather unusual in Cognac, does help a little when it comes to winning over lovers of… malt. Indeed, like us. Finish: long, clean, on fully ripe green fruits. Comments: for a ten-year-old (+/-) and with no obvious contribution from active wood, this really is very successful.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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François Voyer ‘Lot 19.89 – Gastronomic Waves #3’ (57.7%, Malternative Belgium, Grande Champagne, 2026) 
We are of course at cask strength here. Colour: full gold. Nose: very aromatic and beautifully simple, with plenty of orange marmalade, mirabelle jam and quince jelly, followed by orange blossom honey. Very seductive. With water: a few herbal teas and herbs, some mint too, but it remains compact. Mouth (neat): very compact and coherent indeed, this time more on vineyard peach and apricot liqueurs. A little toffee, dark tobacco and black pepper in the background, that’s the wood. With water: the dark tobacco starts to take over a little, and that works perfectly. Finish: very long, with the marmalade and apricot jam making a comeback. Black pepper and spiced honey in the aftertaste. Comments: nothing to add, this is excellent.
SGP:651 - 89 points. |
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Laurichesse ‘Lot 19.76 – La Souveraine’ (45.1%, Malternative Belgium, Grande Champagne, cask #215, 382 bottles) 
La souveraine more or less means the Queen in French. Colour: amber. Nose: a real sin, an absolute delight, with great Sauternes, mirabelles and apricots, citron liqueur and some wonderfully expressive honeys. Magnificent and ‘obvious’. A more floral side soon joins in as well (dandelions, buttercups, elderflower, honeysuckle) Mouth: magnificent balance between teas and herbal teas on the one hand, and some utterly splendid honeyed apple and pear juice on the other. A little mango. Finish: quite long, more resinous, almost a little mentholated. Eucalyptus and a little earth in the aftertaste. Comments: not that far from the Voyer, really, but softer and almost easier. We like easy things, don’t we. There is also a 19.75, but we’ll taste that one next time.
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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Prunier 1976/2026 (59.4%, OB, Fins Bois, 90 bottles)
What a beautiful bottle! We really mean the bottle itself, very Grand Siècle or, you're right, Beyoncé style. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: and what a beautiful nose! Headily aromatic, with jasmine, hibiscus, honeysuckle, orange blossom, a little cedarwood, peaches in syrup, lychees, gewurztraminer, fresh bark, fresh walnut skins, toasted touches… With water: it does not budge, which is excellent news given how beautiful the nose was at cask strength. Mouth (neat): incredible! All the mints, all the black teas, all the flowers, and an assortment of Turkish delights such as even President Erdogan could not obtain (sorry, Mr President). Incredible rose fruit paste. With water: utterly sublime in its freshness, fruits, gentle spices, and toasted hazelnuts and almonds coated with honey. Roasted chestnuts. Finish: sublime earths and roots, then mints. Comments: the epitome of a great Fins Bois, with that superb rusticity adding incredible backbone, even to a very aromatic and almost ‘sweet’ cognac. We should perhaps remember that 1976 was a very hot year, almost as hot as… 2026.
SGP:651 - 92 points. |
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Mauxion ’19.38’ (43%, OB, The Rare Cask, Grande Champagne, 120 bottles, 2026)
Here we are, transported back to before the last true world war. We hope Trump, Putin et al. won’t end up making that expression obsolete. Colour: full gold. Nose: I don’t know whether this very old cognac has been reduced or whether it is at cask strength/from a demijohn, but what is certain is that the result is magnificent, rather waxy (furniture polish) and floral, with very light touches of gentian and verbena over the usual (if we may say so) ripe peaches and apricots. Splendid touches of camphor too. Mouth: I love this, especially those notes of sage at the start, which give it an almost Italian side, then that fattiness that almost glues your lips together, with argan oil, and finally old herbal liqueurs, antique yellow Chartreuse etc. And triple sec, equally antique. Finish: not very long but coherent and never frustrating, quite the opposite. The fruity and floral fatness remains, as does the yellow Chartreuse. Comments: we remain at the summit. Deciding which is better, between the Prunier 76 and this Mauxion 38, would be an act of inexcusable vulgarity.
SGP:561 - 92 points. |
It is time to put an end to what eventually turned into a vertical, a configuration that quite often seems to take shape on the WF tasting table, almost against our will. There must be elves around here… |
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