Coldorak's whisky blog.
We reviewed three cognacs from the sample pack that Cognac-Expert sold a few weeks ago. This sample pack included six cognacs, and with today’s trio, we will have reviewed them all. In addition to today’s three cognacs, the pack contained Guynot Elégance, Bégaud Instant Rare, and Egreteau 80–81 B23. The last three cognacs we’re reviewing today are from Maze Churchill, Landreau, and La Prenellerie, with Authentic Spirits bottling the latter.
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We’re back to Cognac with a pair of old Fins Bois cognacs. The particularity of the Fins Bois terroir in Cognac lies in its diverse soil composition, maritime climate, and its position as the largest and most prolific cru in the Cognac region. The soils in Fins Bois range from red, iron-rich rocky soils to heavy clay, chalk, and limestone patches. This diversity contributes to a wide variety of eaux-de-vie with marked fruity and floral aromas, often described as having a fresh, grape-forward character reminiscent of freshly pressed grapes and fruit blossoms. In our glass today are a Guynot Elégance and a Bégaud Instant Rare, two Fins Bois cognacs.
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Fanny Fougerat Cognac is a small, independent house founded in 2013 by Fanny Fougerat, who represents the fourth generation of her family to work as winegrowers and distillers. Unlike previous generations, who sold their eaux-de-vie to major Cognac houses, Fanny decided to bottle her own Cognac, focusing on expressing the character of her vineyards in Borderies and Fins Bois. She produces single-parcel, non-blended cognacs in order to highlight the terroir and showcase freshness, finesse, and precision (her words). Her approach aims to offer a transparent and distinctive alternative to the traditional image of Cognac, with each release labelled by barrel and bottle number. We review today an older release: the Fanny Fougerat Le Notoire Cognac.
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The Egreteau Cognac estate is a family vineyard located in the Cognac region of France, spanning the Fins Bois and Borderies crus. The estate’s soils, composed of limestone hills and clay, produce eaux-de-vie that are aged separately to maintain their distinct aromatic profiles before blending. This approach reflects the estate’s focus on terroir-driven production. We review two single casks: the Egreteau Borderies Fragment Lot 95B23 and 80–81B23.
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Today, we’re exploring three Grande Champagne cognacs: Laurichesse, Marancheville, and Ragnaud Sabourin. I must confess, my appreciation for cognac has been steadily growing. For a long time, I was so captivated by whisky that other spirits seemed dull in comparison, lacking the depth and complexity of flavours. However, over the past six to twelve months, I’ve delved deeper into cognac, learning to distinguish between the different crus and even recognizing them blind sometimes. I realise now that I was mistaken to overlook cognac before; it’s a remarkable spirit with a rich history that whisky can’t always match. Now, let’s see how these three cognacs measure up. I haven’t researched their ages beforehand, so we’ll taste them in order of increasing ABV.
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After the recently reviewed Vallein Tercinier bottled by Malternative Belgium, we compare two Fins Bois cognacs from this well-known merchant. We’ll review an official single cask against one selected by Cognac Sponge, the cognac branch of Whisky Sponge and Decadent Drinks. Specifically, we’ll review the Vallein Tercinier Lot 96 and N.88 Cognac Sponge, both single casks from the Fins Bois cru.
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Today we explore five Prunier cask strength vintage cognacs, moving from Fins Bois to Borderies to Petite Champagne, with vintages ranging from 1978 to 1994 harvests.
Early last year, a good friend introduced me to the Prunier Cognac house when he shared the last of his 1979 Prunier cognac, bottled by The Whisky Jury, during an SMWS tasting in Paris on my birthday. A few days later, back home near Rennes, I tried the cognac and was amazed by its quality, bursting with tropical fruits. I spent days searching the Internet for another bottle but unfortunately found none. Fast forward to December 2024, and I discovered a Prunier Horizon in my Cognac-Expert Advent Calendar. Although not as tropical, it was equally stunning with vibrant fruitiness.
When I planned a trip to Cognac in February to visit distilleries and merchants, I made sure to include Prunier. Though they don’t typically welcome visitors, I arranged to spend an afternoon with Alice Burnez as an on-trade visitor, thanks to my own company, Whisky Sans Souci. Alice gave me a wonderful tour, explaining the history of their house and showing me their cellars and the process of hand-waxing and sealing bottles with a wire cage and painted lead seals.
Alice and her sister Claire prepared a large lineup of bottles for me to try. As we worked through the samples, I couldn’t stay longer, so they kindly provided me with samples from the rest of the lineup to review later with a fresh palate. I left Prunier with five cask strength vintage cognac samples (and purchased a stunning bottle of a vintage 1979 and some branded glasses). Now, it’s time to review them!
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This week, we return to Cognac to review something entirely new – a 17-year-old Fins Bois Cognac that Godet hasn’t released yet: the Godet Single Cask Spring 2025 Edition. Back in December 2024, we sampled a Godet 43-year-old single cask Cognac (their Fall 2024 edition) as part of our Cognac-Expert Advent Calendar, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, we’re excited to explore a younger offering from this esteemed Cognac house with their Godet Single Cask Spring 2025 Edition.
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It’s been a while since we last reviewed some malternatives on More Drams, so let’s dive into the malternative samples box and explore an Armagnac and a… not-Armagnac Swell de Spirits. We have a ‘classic’ Bas-Armagnac 1976 from Domaine de Jouatmaou, and a 2002 Domaine de Baraillon that, probably because of its finish in an ex-Long Pond rum cask previously used for Calvados, can no longer be called Armagnac. This should be interesting!
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Malternative Belgium is a company founded by Pieter Knapen and Ysatis Thijs, dedicated to cognac. Established in 2020 as an independent bottler, Malternative Belgium combines passion and time to select and bottle cognacs. The company operates both an online business and an ‘experience store’ in Hasselt, where visitors can taste and learn about cognac in a cosy environment. The journey of Malternative Belgium began in 2009 with an interest in spirits, leading to their involvement as distributors for a reputable cognac brand in 2016. However, their vision extended beyond mere distribution; they aimed to share the rich stories and experiences that cognac offers. Through their network of small, family-owned producers in the cognac region, they source high-quality spirits (Cognacs first, but also now Calvados) under their brand. We review today three ‘old’ cognacs from Malternative Belgium, but we’ll review more recent ones in the coming weeks.
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