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Dwelling
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| Hello, that is one in all our (nearly) day by day tastings. Santé! |
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June 8, 2025
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A phrase of warning
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are performed from the perspective of a malt whisky fanatic who, what’s extra, is aboslutely not an knowledgeable in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or every other spirits. Thanks – and peace! |
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A couple of cognacs and armagnacs only for enjoyable
For as soon as, we’re going to combine cognacs and armagnacs, it’ll save us from ready too lengthy for sure new releases. However to start out with, somewhat aperitif…
Rémy Martin commercial, mid-Nineteen Sixties – again when there was nonetheless an effort to teach the patron somewhat.
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Remy Martin ‘V.S.O.P. Qualité du Centaure’ (40°, OB, High quality Champagne, +/-1965) 
Let’s see whether or not the 40%, or somewhat 40°, managed to assist this charming bottle maintain its floor all these years. Allow us to keep in mind that ‘wonderful champagne’ is a mix of the 2 champagnes (grande and petite). Color: amber. Nostril: nonetheless very contemporary, very classical in fashion, basically on dried grapes and some stalks, honey, and right here some notes of mint tea that will have come from bottle ageing. A couple of touches of vegetable inventory bolster that impression. Mouth: it’s actually turn out to be fairly dry on the palate, a bit like an outdated candy wine that has eaten up its sugars. It’s not disagreeable, supplied one likes black tea, liquorice wooden and darkish chocolate. End: not so quick in any case, nonetheless mentholated and even barely salty. A little bit of pear eau-de-vie within the aftertaste. Feedback: an fascinating outdated Rémy to style, the well-known centaur appears to have had somewhat first rate style.
SGP:361 – 81 factors. |
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Cognac ‘Lot 74’ (40.64%, Malternative Belgium for Ardour for Whisky, 2024) 
An outdated demijohn from a bouilleur de cru in Criteuil-la-Magdeleine, close to Segonzac. Needs to be a grande champagne. Color: amber. Nostril: entertaining begin on pistachio cream and contemporary strawberries, earlier than the extra anticipated peaches and figs begin to make themselves heard. Small touches of rosehip and hawthorn, in addition to two or three drops of chicory espresso, barely caramelised. It isn’t drained in any respect regardless of the very low energy, although I’d nearly swear there’s a tiny little bit of outdated bottle impact. Mouth: it’s true that you simply do discover the fashion of outdated Rémy Martin right here, solely with extra complexity and fruit that also feels… alive. A couple of touches of outdated honey, barely fermented, black tea, bitter chocolate, a touch of clove… End: stewed fruits, honey, somewhat cinnamon, and notes of outdated wooden and pine needles. Feedback: delicate, somewhat ‘in its personal juice’ like a classic automobile. A great deal of allure, actually.
SGP:461 – 87 factors. |
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Darroze ‘Domaine de Busquet’ 1999/2025 (49.5%, Journal des Kirsch, Kirsch Import, bas-armagnac) 
This one’s pure baco. Color: darkish crimson amber. Nostril: it’s at all times fascinating to style a wonderful armagnac after a very good cognac—right here it’s extra earthy, extra on tobacco and undergrowth, but in addition freshly sawn fir wooden, dry-cured ham, and prunes (which pair splendidly with the ham, naturally)… Mouth: identical ideas, phrase for phrase, solely with somewhat extra robust liquorice and a firmer tannic spine that makes the entire thing extra rustic, which fits us simply wonderful. I’d have somewhat mentioned an older Ténarèze with somewhat fairly acidity. The coniferous aspect is sort of distinguished too, and that’s very a lot to our liking. End: lengthy, pretty resinous, and above all deeply country-style. Feedback: all in all, that is an armagnac that’s very ‘armagnac’. Why would we complain, it’s wonderful and due to this fact… genuine (excuse me?)
SGP:461 – 90 factors. |
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Jean-Luc Pasquet 53 yo ‘Lot 71’ (55.5%, Maltbarn, grande champagne, 2025)
JL Pasquet, among the many malternative cognacs, is a bit just like the Porsche of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Do with that comparability what you’ll (Mr and Mrs Pasquet, I’m obtainable for remark). Color: honey amber. Nostril: right here comes that famously exact fruitiness, with peaches and honey-poached pears, honeysuckle, candy liquorice, quince paste, and the faintest mentholated touches… With water: earthy soils, greenhouse, grape should… Mouth (neat): it’s sensible to search out this sort of bottling energy in a wonderful cognac; imagine me, it’s not that widespread in France. Stewed fruits enhanced with marc, winery peaches after all, darkish tobacco, a barely waxy edge… With water: liquorice returns, together with soil, pine nuts… End: lengthy, extra mentholated, however raisins stand watch within the aftertaste. Feedback: a powerful counterpart to the Darroze/Kirsch, on the reverse finish of the spectrum, but on the identical stage of high quality. Properly, in my opinion.
SGP:651 – 90 factors. |
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Domaine Saint Martin 1992/2025 (54.5%, Le Passeur, bas armagnac, cask #63) 
From the oldest cellular nonetheless in your complete Armagnac area! That is pure baco from the ‘fauve sands’, which date again to the Center Miocene, in case you actually wish to know. Color: deep gold. Nostril: this acts somewhat like a bridge between the nice cognacs and the nice armagnacs, and it’s fairly lovely. There’s that fruity ham notice once more, just a few ashes (cigar), candlewax, contemporary mushrooms, undergrowth, and a few marc de Bourgogne… With water: somewhat cooked wine, walnut wine… Mouth (neat): it’s highly effective, fairly mentholated and natural, spicy, nearly a tad tough (peach pores and skin), with wonderful tannins and at all times that slight contact of marc. We’ll should do some marc session in the future. With water: not a lot change, nonetheless very rustic and country-style. End: somewhat lengthy and, as common, pretty liquoricy. Feedback: we had a sister cask at WF 90, and this one’s very shut. High-notch armagnac, although I need to admit it truly will get trickier once you begin mixing armagnacs and cognacs in the identical session.
SGP:561 – 89 factors. |
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Armagnac du Collectionneur 1870/1986 (42.8%, Ryst-Dupeyron)
That’s proper, 1870—it’s not a typo. The home of Dupeyron or Ryst-Dupeyron, négociant-maturers based mostly in Condom within the Gers, has lengthy specialised in classic armagnacs, typically remarkably historical ones corresponding to this. Notice that it was already 115 years outdated when bottled, although who is aware of how a lot of that point it truly spent in wooden. It’s not possible to say, however in accordance with the home, the ‘du Collectionneur’ vary gathers the agency’s single casks. Color: darkish amber. Nostril: it’s solely ‘transcategory’, with notes of palo cortado, armagnac after all, very outdated calvados, outdated Speyside, walnuts, pecans, aged plums, boot polish, encaustic wax, dried dates, vintage espresso liqueur, puffs of long-forgotten attic, balms, cherry stems, hints of brine… Isn’t the entire world in there? All that’s lacking is gunpowder. Mouth: the identical joyful jumble returns, although it’s drier now and extra clearly on outdated solera wines—amontillado, Madeira, Marsala… There’s even some historical passito that’s turned salty, and outdated Catalan rancio too… Then it turns into barely dusty, which oddly reassures one of many classic’s authenticity, harvested within the midst of the Franco-Prussian Warfare and maybe distilled simply after it (19 July 1870 – 28 January 1871). End: pretty lengthy, magnificent, saline, with excellent resinous and brothy notes, and fairly pronounced parsley with an impressive umami. Feedback: and in the meantime we Alsatians have been being conquered by Otto von Bismarck and the German Empire, solely to turn out to be French once more in 1918. At any charge, what a unprecedented bottle.
SGP:472 – 92 factors. |
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Come on now, you are both Alsatian otherwise you’re not… In any case, this too is a correct ‘French brandy’:
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Marc de Gewurztraminer 1976/2016 (63.1%, Léonard et Olivier Humbrecht à Turckheim, 370 bottles)
You realize what a marc is: it’s the grape skins and pips (and a few remaining juice) left after urgent, fermented then distilled. Sometimes, the spirit is saved white (typically aged in demijohns), however typically it’s matured in oak casks, or far more not often in different woods like chestnut and even ash (I imagine). Color: amber with crimson hues. Nostril: that is explosive, filled with tar, berries and seeds, pure rubber, contemporary ginger, varnishes, important oils, and even, let’s say it, eau de cologne. However I don’t suppose this child ought to actually be tasted at its full 63.1%. With water: very distinctive certainly, bringing out rosewater from the gewurztraminer, but in addition loads of wooden extract and heaps of varnish. Mouth (neat): that is extraordinarily excessive, frankly, on intensely natural and peppery olive oil, glue, peppered rosewater, cumin… Water is totally important. With water: it’s now a type of Alsatian amaro, heavy on fir bud extract, mustard, walnut stain and tobacco. Peppery chocolate, nonetheless an excessive profile. End: very lengthy, whereas glue and polish do return. Feedback: guess what number of occasions we’ve used the phrase ‘excessive’ on this notice. In brief, it’s barely scoreable, and clearly off-category. A preservation rating, ‘for the file’.
SGP:372 – 85 factors. |
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All in all, we’ll have tasted some somewhat uncommon tipples as we speak, and that’s precisely what we like to do at Château Whiskyfun. Promise, we’ll be sampling extra extraordinary issues over the approaching Sundays…
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Maintain on, right here’s a last-minute bonus:
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Jean Fillioux 1965-1970/2025 (45.3%, Journal des Kirsch, Kirsch Import, Cognac Grande Champagne, 162 bottles)
Ugni blanc. From a well-regarded home, this can be a mix of vintages from the heyday of the Yardbirds—what might probably go improper? That mentioned, it appears to be Cardinal de Richelieu on the label, although finest not point out that to Dumas’ three musketeers! Although in actual life, they weren’t truly enemies, fairly the alternative. Color: amber. Nostril: a great deal of stewed fruits—peaches, pears, apricots, plus extra furnishings polish than in a dusty outdated library from Richelieu’s time (!) Then come finer spices from the wooden, notably black pepper with a shaving of darkish chocolate and the tiniest whiff of menthol. Parsley. Currants spherical off the bouquet properly. Mouth: the wooden takes the lead, which is much from uncommon, with agency liquorice, cracked pepper, nutmeg, coriander seeds, that very same menthol, and fir buds… All of it then shifts towards extra fruity softness, extra on peach and apricot preserves, with just a few hints of violet sweets. End: fantastic duality, with each woodiness (tobacco) and fruitiness (marmalade) dancing in step, let’s name it an Argentine tango. Why not? Feedback: very a lot in the home’s polished woody fashion, it should take fairly a little bit of finesse to attain this stage of steadiness, notably with the tannins. In brief, the epitome of the fashion, and one thing each correct fanatic ought to have on their shelf. Magnificent ‘woody’ beast.
SGP:561 – 91 factors. |
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(A thousand mercis to Angus for the unbelievable 1870!)
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