Third and final spring session of our cognacs


April 19, 2026

Third and final spring session of our cognacs

This time, we’ll be featuring some particularly well-aged cognacs, and shall, naturally, begin with a small aperitif blend…

'In the foreground, success. In the background, the secret." Aren’t those slightly cryptic 1970s adverts something we all love?

Baron Otard ‘V.S.O.P.’ (40%, OB, Fine Champagne, +/-1980)

Baron Otard ‘V.S.O.P.’ (40%, OB, Fine Champagne, +/-1975)

These large-production bottles are still very easy to come by for a few bucks on the market, say €70 to €80 at the very most, but of course, after so many years, the contents can be a bit hit and miss, you will tell me it is much the same with Scotch. We had tasted a more recent version of this ‘black label’ three or four years ago, it had been rather good (+/-1995, WF 80). Colour: deep gold. Nose: classic cognac of the era, very much marked by raisins, though not excessively so, while there is also a gentle touch of pepper, very pleasant, then it carries on towards the usual pairing of peaches in syrup and honey. Mouth: rather more nervous than expected, even if, once again, the raisins are a little too forward for our liking, it then moves on to honey cake, with a slight molasses and corn syrup side, which is a tad unfortunate. Finish: fairly long, now a little too sweet for our taste. Comments: these cognacs were often rather doctored or darkened/obscured, and here it eventually shows, which is a pity.
SGP:741 - 77 points.

A. de Fussigny ‘Supérieur’ (45%, OB, Fine Champagne, +/-2025)

A boosted version of the house’s regular gem. We rather like the word ‘supérieur’, it smacks nicely of the 1960s. We also quite like the mention ‘spiced and distinctive’ on the label, I suppose our friends really meant to say ‘spicy’. In any case, this is not doctored cognac! Colour: full gold. Nose: much more herbal than the old Otard, much closer to small herbs, autumn leaves, even white asparagus and aubergines, all things we adore. The base at the back is provided by a combination of orange peel, herbal infusions, liquorice and white pepper. Mouth: a little softer but above all eminently malternative. Saline touches, thyme, camomile, lime blossom honey, vineyard peaches. Finish: long, rather youthful and rustic, with also more liquorice wood. Comments: here is a baby that ticks all the boxes for a malt lover.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Delamain & Cie 1985/2026 ‘Les Tarins Verts’ (51%, Malternative Belgium, Petite Champagne)

The greenfinch or tarin vert in French is a splendid little bird, and we kindly ask our French-speaking friends not to confuse it with the slang word ‘tarin’, meaning ‘big nose’, although we do not doubt that an excess of cognac might indeed grant you a rather large nose of a faintly green hue. As for the house of Delamain, it is sufficiently renowned, no need to labour the point. Colour: full gold. Nose: quince paste and candied orange zest, then a very fine Rhône white wine, think marsanne and roussanne from a top house, with touches of honeysuckle, the balance is perfect. With water: incense and jasmine! Mouth (neat): a very lovely oakiness, slightly green indeed, close to balsa and cedar, whose faintly drying side works perfectly, rather like the second or third infusion of a grand Pu-erh tea, then it develops towards clay and pine sap and lemon sweets, from the Vosges of course, that is to say, the pine sap. With water: all this remains, with the addition of fir honey and a drop of verbena liqueur. Finish: long, ultimately rather fresh, more on lemon, quince and lemon again, nothing to complain about. Comments: rarely has a spirits house so aptly borne its name, we mean ‘Malternative’.
SGP:451 - 90 points.

Petite Champagne ‘Lot 19.70 La Signature’ (51.2%, Malternative Belgium, 167 bottles)

A bouilleur de cru’s cognac from the village of Archiac. We are not far from Jonzac, not far from Jarnac, and not far from Cognac either, all of it within a handkerchief, as we say. Colour: full gold. Nose: fruitier, less oriental than the Delamain, more on prunes and currants, dried figs and dates, then a few touches of millionaire’s shortbread and Darjeeling. With water: the wood elements come out elegantly, dried mint, patchouli, eucalyptus, Earl Grey, grey pepper… Mouth (neat): really very fruity, very classic, and we would dare add that it does indeed feel very much like a ‘bouilleur de cru’ thing. Small touches of Italian bitterness beyond the currants. With water: we find the same woody notes as on the nose, especially an Earl Grey and pepper duo, with some chen-pi. Finish: long and really quite spicy at this stage, with several peppers and a hint of black cherry jam, rather like in Itxassou, with a fairly woody aftertaste. Comments: superb, that said, the Delamain had set such an elegant pace. Do not speak to us about the construction of line-ups, and that’s why we often like to do things randomly.
SGP:551 - 88 points.

François Voyer ‘Lot 19.60’ (48%, Malternative Belgium, private bottling, 42 bottles, 2026)

Straight from a demi-john, and let us say it, very often that is for the better. If the owners once decided to take a spirit out of wood, it was certainly not without reason. Colour: amber gold. Nose: stop, let us pause, this is another league, that of very great bourbons, with a magnificent varnish, mango, vineyard peach, mint, Timut pepper, broom… We shall not overdo it, on the nose this is a magnificent cognac. Mouth: top of the game. An immense fruit salad drenched in sublime honey, orange juice, a few mint leaves and a hint of olive oil. Ite Missa est. Finish: fairly long, with the arrival of a very soft and subtle liquorice, sometimes liquorice can be overwhelming, but not here. Comments: it is almost embarrassing that it should be so good, when there are, or rather were, only forty-two bottles. It must be said that 1960 is a great year, as all our friends like to say whenever you mention their birth vintage on Facebook. Yet, in wine and aside from sweet wines such as certain Sauternes, 1960 was a very small year, it must be said it was framed by the magical 1959 and 1961.
SGP:651 - 92 points.

We’ll finish with a pre-war vintage. Though, as you rightly think, these days the term has rather lost its meaning as all vintages are pre-war, sadly.

Prunier ‘Lot 23’ (57.2%, Ferrer, Collection Dame-Jeanne, Grande Champagne, +/-2026)

If this were an official Scottish malt, it would be sold to you at one hundred times the price (this 1923 Cognac is tagged at €1,250, one must be dreaming) in Bohemian crystal, complete with a private appointment and a photograph with the master blender, a nickel silver pin badge, two diamond-engraved Glencairns and a numbered certificate of ownership, hand-signed by that very same master blender, plus a CD of Harry Lauder’s greatest hits. By the way, the strength is rather impressive for a 1923, though we do not know how long it had been resting quietly in its demi-john. Colour: red amber. Nose: at this stage we are somewhere between a very old cognac, a very old malt and a very old PX from Malaga, the sort of solera started in the previous century, that is to say the 19th century. An immense combination of very ripe peaches and fresh, juicy prunes, with rose petals and a light touch of incense, it is really rather beautiful. With water: the saps and resins come to the fore, fir, pine, fig tree, even tomato bush, yet it remains balanced, and the incense keeps watch. Mouth (neat): a perfect echo of the nose, with polished woods, very dark chocolate, Russian tea, brown tobacco… The tannins are very present, we are rather curious to see what will happen after the addition of water. With water: do we believe in miracles? Here comes a cavalcade of all manner of candied citrus fruits, alongside all sorts of mints that bring a great deal of freshness to the tannins. Finish: long, more woody, more marked by pine and fir needles, with a very fine bitterness, while the zests continue to keep things in check. Three drops of rose liqueur and pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: it is moving to taste a spirit distilled more than a hundred years ago, in the days of Harry Lauder (ha), yet our score will remain purely organoleptic, naturally, that is the deal.
SGP:471 - 90 points.

Check the index of all cognacs we've tasted