One Cognac, and what a Cognac


October 4, 2026

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!

One Cognac, and what a Cognac

We hadn’t planned on publishing anything today, being rather pleasantly knocked sideways by the very enjoyably lethal run of Whisky Live Paris, the Whisky Show in London this weekend (we’re there as we speak), and then Whisky Live Germany in Hamburg next week. But there you have it, in London we stumbled upon a rather incredible little gem and simply couldn’t resist publishing its ‘official’ tasting note (right) without further ado. So here it is…

Île d’Oléron 18 yo 2007/2026 (50.3%, Jean Grosperrin, Bois Ordinaires)

This one comes from a tiny estate in Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, whose owner retired after the 2007 harvest, so this should actually be the property’s very last vintage. Oléron cognacs are proper island spirits, grown on sandy soils right by the Atlantic, and mature examples have become exceedingly rare. We’ve already tried an excellent 18-year-old from the same estate back in 2022 (WF 88), so expectations are not exactly low. Besides, any spirit that comes from an island already has an unfair advantage on Whiskyfun. Ha! Colour: pure gold. Nose: fat, almost oily, with a texture reminiscent of a great malt and, astonishingly, something rather Bruichladdichian about it. Lots of melon skin, a few maritime touches (without quite venturing into seaweed and oysters, mind you), and some magnificent sandalwood. There’s also a little tinned peach, as in many lovely cognacs, and even a few fresh mint leaves that seem to have been dragged through the soil. In short, I adore this nose. Mouth: a little closer to classic cognac this time, but there’s some pretty massive cinnamon (cinnamon biscuits), damson tart (sprinkled with cinnamon, right), and a few small raisins wandering through. It all ends up rather like speculoos. Finish: long and surprisingly fresh. The little mint returns in the aftertaste, together with a salty, resinous touch that turns one last somersault right at the end. Comments: as we used to say in the early days of whisky ‘blogging’, I’d like to marry this cognac. As for the price, I believe it is clearly ‘typo-ish’. See what I mean.
SGP:551 - 90 points.

Check the index of all cognacs we've tasted