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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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November 20, 2016 |
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The search for malternatives
The Cognac month, from today to 1811 |
We had some stunning ones last week, especially those Vallein-Tercinier 65 and 56 both at WF 93. And we said that we wouldn’t try some uninspiring Cognacs by large brands that are, in truth, the equivalents of the large-volume Scottish blends. Good-not-great, as they say. Now, all that depends on the kind of line-up you’re having on your table, don’t you agree? See what we’ve got… |
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Bisquit ‘Légende’ (40%, OB, Cognac, +/-2015)  A pompous name and not much information, where else have we already seen that? But you never know… Colour: deep gold. Nose: no, it’s rather fine, with notes of Demerara sugar and burnt raisins, some caramel, orange zests dipped into chocolate, honeysuckle, and ‘half-burnt pastries’. Certainly not un-nice, I have to say. Mouth: sweet and caramely arrival, with some honey, marmalade and maple syrup, but everything kind of falls apart after ten seconds, which happens very often with most large-volume blends from Cognac or Scotland. Gets a little bitter and cardboardy. Finish: shortish and flattish, but still acceptable. Burnt bread in the aftertaste. Comments: not bad at all, but many people are wondering why the French don’t drink more Cognac. This was a part of the answer – but once again, it wasn’t the baddest of them all, at all. SGP:451 - 74 points. |
So, Bisquit he said, or Bisquit-Dubouché (same house)… |
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Bisquit *** (no abv, OB, Cognac, Ruffino, Italy, early 1950s?)  Three star bottlings used to be the younger Cognacs, and also the cheapest, but you could find some gems. Let’s see… Colour: deep gold. Nose: some very subtle fudge and caramel, old sweet wine (Rivesaltes and such), some rancio for sure, then a development on various garden herbs, parsley, lovage, chives, and above everything, ramson. And then, coffee, dried beef and chocolate, as well as a touch of beeswax. So far, so lovely and pretty tertiary. Good old-bottle-effect? Mouth: well, it certainly stood the distance, starting with ultra-ripe pears covered with two tons of raisins, and going on with a lot of sweet wine, from Sauternes to PX. You do understand that this is distilled wine. Some fudge as well, and then even more raisins. Good body, nice oiliness. Now the palate is far from being as complex as the nose, but that’s often the case. Finish: medium, sweet and smooth, with more raisins. Comments: I think modern large-volume Cognacs have more caramel, and fewer raisins. I do prefer raisins. SGP:740 - 85 points. |
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Bisquit *** (40%, OB, Cognac, 1950s)  Another lovely old bottle, the label stating that it was bottled by appointment to the late king George VI, so probably shortly after the year 1952. Colour: deep gold. Nose: well in the style of the previous Bisquit, just a little waxier, and rather less herbal, although the parsleyish (!) side remained quite prominent. Perhaps a notch dustier? Mouth: a metallic touch at first, then rather pears and cardboard. Or old teabags. I think it’s a little tired, but it still sings and dances on your tongue. Raisins, of course. Finish: rather short, with raisins and a feeling of metal polish. Comments: this baby feels like if it’s at around 30-35% vol., so it did lose a bit of steam through the many years. But it’s still offering pleasures and… memories. To sip while listening to an old Duke Ellington 78 rpm. SGP:430 - 78 points. |
| You ain’t seen nothing yet… |
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Bisquit Dubouché 1858 (42%, OB, Cognac, Grande Fine Champagne, 73cl)  When was this bottled? Hard to say, probably in the 1950s since there’s a stated ABV, so I guess it was between 90 and 100 years old when the casks were disgorged. What’s sure is that this is pre-phylloxeric Cognac, folle-blanche-driven and distilled while the not-so-clever Napoléon III was the Emperor of the French. It’s always moving to taste such an old spirit – and believe, we’ll try many more before Christmas! Colour: deep gold. Nose: the first scents that rise to your nostrils are those of roses and meaty bouillons, which creates a kind of rather oriental feeling. Lotus flowers? Marrows, sandalwood, chicken broth, lilies, raisins… It’s all very subtle, very delicate, and, I have to say, very moving indeed. There are even very elegant notes of old style perfume, Patou, perhaps… |
Mouth: impressive! No weaknesses, no tiredness, rather a kind of rustic arrival, on meats and sweet and sour sauces, combining mint, raisins, meat extracts, and various herbs. Yeah I know, sounds rather like English cooking ;-). Some earth as well, mushrooms, humus, even a little yeast or leaven, soy sauce, chestnut purée… Seriously, 1858, imagine! Although I wouldn’t call it a powerful spirit, I’d say it stood the test of time much better than the previous, and obviously younger ‘***’. Finish: not extraordinarily long, obviously, but still very well alive and kicking. Raisins and mint sauce. And Marmite? Nah… Comments: it’s always hard to taste these very old bottles in ‘blind conditions’, meaning that you wouldn’t take their pedigrees into consideration, but I swear to old Napo the Third that this is some extremely fine old Cognac. And moving, at that. SGP:551 - 89 points. |
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| Napoléon III? How about Napoléon I? We had tried a Bisquit 1930 quite some years ago, and it had been brilliant (WF 92). So let’s go further back down the years and meet Napoléon I indeed… |
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Bisquit Dubouché 1811 (OB, Cognac, Grande Fine Champagne, 73cl)  Probably bottled (or rebottled) right after WWII or in the early 1950s. This Bisquit Bubouché is one of the most famous 1811s, knowing that 1811 was the year of the Flaugergues comet, and the most famous and most sought-after vintage in Cognac ever. In September and October, so during the harvest, the comet used to shine during night time and some used to say that that phenomenon almost doubled the amount of ‘sunshine’ that the grapes could benefit from. Rather unlikely, but the 1811 vintage always kept an almost mythical aura. Now, 1858 was a comet vintage too, forgot to say! I’ve also read that good old Napo The First visited the region after the harvest, and that he bough a lot of new fillings for the imperial cellars. I’ll also add that we already tried a 1811 ‘Roi de Rome’ last year, and that it had been pretty imperial indeed (WF 90). |
Colour: deep gold/amber. Nose: ooooh! This is perfect, with some cigars and some chocolate, then warm pastries, brioches, panettones, kugelhopfs, and myriads of tiny herbs and even vegetables. Mint, parsley, lovage, sage, tarragon, even dill… The background remains rather meaty, as in many very old cognacs, with some dried beef, marrow soup, game, and only the Emperor knows what else. A mentholy side never stops growing, which works just perfectly in this context. There’s also more and more tobacco, old magazines in the attic, roasted chestnuts, more bouillon, and guess what? Even a little malt! This amount of complexity is just mesmerizing. Mouth: a little too much paraffin/plasticine in the arrival, which often happens with very old bottles, but once everything becomes clearer and stabilises, you’ll find one of the most impressive combination of all things raisiny with all things resinous and sweetly meaty. Once again I get a feeling of English cuisine, with these homemade sauces our friends do pour over just any kind of meat. Certainly some bay-leaves involved, juniper, cloves, and ach, err, Marmite. A pinhead of Marmite, and of course rancio. Even the body’s impressive, it still feels like around 38-40% vol. Finish: that’s the strangest part, the finish is almost perfect, with even some chocolate, raisin sauce, and a dollop of Demerara syrup. A discreet saltiness in the aftertaste, as in salted buttered fudge. Comments: forgot to say that while some bottles of 1811 do have a comet on their necks, this one has the wee Emperor in a wax seal. Not that that matters much, does it. What’s sure is that this spirit that was distilled more than 200 years ago (my god, two hundred years!) remained perfectly alive and, yeah, kicking. |
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Very humbling, I have to say. SGP:451 - 92 points (and those are real, organoleptical points, mind you!) |
| (Diego, merci mille fois !) |
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