A Grande (Champagne) Day Out

23-Feb-11 - It's quite a while since I delved into Cognac (see posts starting 23-Sep-08) so the opportunity to taste a range of Grande Champagne Cognacs in London, courtesy of  Les Compagnons du Cognac (LCC), was too good to miss. LCC is a specialist importer with a mission to promote and sell Cognacs from smaller, independent producers, and return some of the profits to social and community projects in the Charentes. My son James is a big Cognac fan and I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for him to taste a range and also to take some pics for this blog.

 Hard at work - James Redhead and me on the other side of the table. Hugo Dunn-Meynell this side.

The event was held at the Hellenic Centre on Paddington Street in London, hosted by James Redhead of LCC and my old Circle of Wine Writers colleague Nicholas Faith (author of  'Cognac' in 2005 and several other books). The room was large and airy, there were plenty of chairs (!) and I saw several other old wine-trade chums including the eternal Hugo Dunn-Meynell who, like me, was grateful for the opportunity of a seated tasting. But on to the Cognacs: there were 40 on show (including Hine Antique as 'a reference sample'), ranging in age from 10-48 years old and classified as VSOP (minimum four years); Napoléon/Réserve (minimum six years); XO (more than 6 years); and Hors d'Age (typically 10 years plus). These are the basic criteria, but, of course, producers of Cognac all have their own way of doing things in terms of ageing and epithets.

One thing I noticed on my last visit to the region was a hint of what I can only describe as 'emulsion paint' on the nose, particularly with younger Cognacs. I'm told that this is a product of the higher alcohols produced during distillation, but it puts me off. Very rarely a Cognac starts with that aroma but then 'kicks in' with its own characteristics, so I have forgiven them: a bit like 'gaminess' in wine. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

There isn't room to list all of them, but these are the ones which impressed me the most. Pictures, prices (and ages, where quoted) are taken from the LCC website:

VSOP

Paul Beau VSOP - £33.60 - a lighter style, with a soft, gentle, almost delicate nose but a rich, classic Cognac palate.
Blanleuil VSOP - £39.84 - lovely, light, floral nose, spiky-spicy mid-palate and a long dark mellow finish.
Couprie VSOP - £34.80 - very delicate mellow-wood nose with a lovely soft, warm, rich palate, very long.
Prisset VSOP - £36.00 - 15 years old - this is only a Fine Champagne rather than a Grande Champagne but had a lovely, fresh, clean nose and a rich, almost chocolatey palate.
Ragnaud-Sabourin Alliance No. 10 VSOP - £40.80 - lovely mature nose, smoky-oaky and delicious and, yes, classic Cognac style on the palate.

NAPOLÉON/RÉSERVE

Marcadier-Bardot Napoléon - £44.40 - surprisingly light and fresh on the nose with hints of fruit on the palate, giving way to heat and a mellow finish.

Gauthier Napoléon (Réserve Famille) - £76.18 - Yes! Big, aromatic soft-toffee-caramel nose, giving way to a surprisingly delicate, almost floral palate. Superb.

Mercier Napoléon - £? - a hint of that 'emulsion paint' aroma on the nose, but the palate falls in with a big, warm. Ripe finish. Excellent.

XO

Ragnaud-Sabourin Alliance No. 20 Réserve Spéciale - £61.20 - very delicate nose but big, hot mid-palate and great length.
Henri Geffard Vieille Réserve - £68.83 - 20 years old - behind the soft, delicate, aromatic nose lies huge power, warmth, and length.
Paul Beau Vieille Réserve - £52.01 - a delicate nose and then 'voom!' The palate expands with broad, toasty flavours. Delicious.
Marcadier-Bardot XO - £66.00 -  delicate caramel nose hides a powerful, big, rich palate with a warm caramel finish.
Banchereau XO - £62.40 - lovely mature 'caramel' nose, rich, 'chewy', powerful palate, long. Excellent.
Blanleuil XO - £66.78 - soft caramel on the nose and a beguiling 'sweet' fruit on the mid-palate with a bright 'hi-fruit' finish.
Jacques Denis XO - £57.60 - slight citrus on the nose but a good, big 'buttery' mid-palate and a long caramel finish.

Gauthier XO Très Vieux - £? - Yes! Softer nose but with heat warmth, and wonderful balance on the palate. I wrote 'Fab!' But this is dangerously drinkable

HORS D'AGE

Marcadier-Bardot Hors d'Age - £108.00 - Yes: hot but not 'chilli-hot' with a rich caramel length.
Ragnaud-Sabourin Alliance No. 35 Fontvieille - £108.00 - 35 years old - soft, generous, delicate, mature nose with 'hot fruit' on the palate and a gentle finish with a hint of... Pineapple?

Jacques Denis Extra - £? - 30 years old - soft, mellow, mature nose, big 'chilli' heat on the palate but mellow power and old wood on the finish.
Banchereau Hors d'Age - £122.40 - 25 years old - another big, hot, rich powerful style with mature wood on the finish. Fab!

Prisset Très Vieille 1962 - £? - 48 years old - I expected to find this too woody but it was perfectly balanced, with some fruit on the nose and a delicious richness on the palate. Fab!

Jacques Denis Vieille Réserve - £? - 40 years old - gentle, aromatic nose with understated power which comes in with the palate, hints of fruit and very long. Excellent.

Job done - and off to lunch!

This was a fascinating tasting. I had expected to like the oldest Cognacs the most, but this was not necessarily the case. Although there were  some excellent venerable examples there, I found that my personal taste was most beguiled by the 10-15-year old bracket. Sometimes very old Cognacs (indeed, very old spirits generally) can 'dry out' after too long in wood and, of course, it's down to the individual distiller to decide what's right for his or her particular spirit. I'm really glad to have tasted such a worthwhile range, and to become acquainted with the small, independent distillers who so often live in the shadow of the big names.