
January 1, 2017

Happy New Year with...

More old Cognac. Really old Cognac.
As promised on Christmas day, we’ll do even older Cognacs today. Remember we had ended our Xmas session with a few old 50 years old, some truly wonderful (Hedges & Butler, Rouyer-Guillet’s Réserve de l’Ange). This time we’ll kick off the session with a little Cordon Bleu by the famous house Martell… Typical early to mid 1970s ad for Martell. Or when double meaning was king ->

Martell ‘Cordon Bleu’ (40%, OB, 2,400 bottles for Italy, rotation 1976)

The Cordon Bleu has been created in 1912, with a large proportion of Borderies Cognac. It’s always been a rather expensive bottling, to this very day (approx 120€ for contemporary bottlings). It’s actually an X.O., so I’d wager this one was distilled around the 1940s and 1950s. And by the way, it’s one of the rare cuvees that used to be available with spring caps a little earlier, I’ve got some of those myself. Anyway… Colour: amber. Nose: it’s a rather potent Cognac on the nose, with these notes of old Calvados that can sometimes be found in some ‘natural’ Cognacs. Notes of ripe gooseberries as well, quinces, oranges, and then rather tinned peaches with a little maple syrup and honey. No heady coffee or toasted oak this time, and no obvious caramel either. In fact, it’s a superb nose, rather of old Macallan quality and style.

Mouth: once again, I cannot not think of some earthy Calvados. There’s also plenty of rancio this time, some coffee, and a pretty perfect earthiness, which would include a mossy side. Some thick black honey. Good body at just 40% vol., no tiredness detected. Finish: surprisingly long, appropriately gritty (is that the Borderies?) and a tad more rustic than others, so perhaps a little more towards Armagnac. Coffee and pear eau-de-vie (inside!) Comments: this starts very well. I had thought we would be more around 80-82. SGP:451 - 87 points.

And now, the age-stated ones…

Latour 70 ans ‘Vieille Réserve’ (no ABV, Cognac, +/-1950s)

As you can see, there’s not much to be read anymore from the label, while I’ve drawn a blank on the internet. But this may be pre-phylloxeric Cognac indeed! Colour: mahogany/bronze. Nose: this is different, we’re going more towards very old brandy de Jerez, or even very old oloroso. Indeed I’m rather finding black earth, old walnuts, pipe tobacco, crème de menthe, and then more and more roasted nuts, between pecans and almonds. Perhaps even preserved morello cherries. What’s sure is that this lovely nose is very intriguing! Mouth: what a brute! Quite… It’s rough and rustic, in a more than beautiful way, with more morello cherries, prunes, liquorice liqueurs, pipe tobacco, a little car, some triple-sec, and always those walnuts that give it a fino-ish character. Definitely quite Jerezian, this old Cognac! Finish: long, absolutely wonderful, and akin to the finish of one of Samaroli’s very sherried old Seysiders (Glen Grant, Glenlivet) if that rings a bell… Splendid old Cognac. Comments: we’re already flying very high, aren’t we. In Cognac too, it seems that age does matter… Mind you, seventy years of age! SGP:362 - 93 points.

Further down the ages (perhaps)…

Martell 1905-1980 ‘Jubilee’ (45%, OB, Italy, 500 bottles)

This rare Martell was bottled to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the house’s relationships with their Italian importer, Salengo-Spirit. I’m not sure it’s all Cognac from 1905, as the back label rather mentions a blend of ‘very old and rare spirits from the paradise’. So perhaps is it even older, you never know. It was bottled in the year 1980. Colour: amber. Nose: it seems that it’s rather older than the Cordon Bleu indeed, and probably more a classic Cognac, with a little more fudge and toffee. Having said that the fruits abound, especially peaches and oranges, while a superb rancioty meatiness starts to show up after one or two minutes. Ham cooked in a mint and orange sauce? Indeed, that sounds pretty English ;-). Exceptional nose.

Mouth: what a great idea it was to bottle this at 45% vol.! It starts relatively grapy, a bit like some good old aged marc, but some liquorice quickly appears, some pear cake, touches of clove and cumin, and then massive amounts of candied quince paste. Which I totally a-d-o-r-e. Perfect body. Finish: long and sharper, more citrusy, and in a way more youthful. Not totally sure it was 75 years old Cognac when it was bottled, but quality’s extremely high nonetheless. Comments: as always, the Italians have been very careful with what they put into their mouth. Haha. I still loved the 70 yo Latour better, having said that. There! SGP:451 - 91 points.

Mathez 75 ans (38/40%, OB, Grande Fine Champagne, +/-1950)

I could not find any serious traces of a Cognac house called Mathez, whether in Jarnac, which is the city that’s mentioned on the label, or elsewhere. All I’ve found is that, apparently, there used to be a relation between them and the house Louis Royer, which is located in Jarnac indeed. So Mathez is probably an extinct brand. And yes, it’s funny that they weren’t too sure about the alcohol content ;-). Colour: dark coffee. Nose: back to the style of the Latour 70 yo, with a lot of coffee, toffee, even tar, and liqueury ganaches. Same feeling of old olorosoed whisky, and indeed, that may have confused the gentry of London eighty or ninety years ago. Also love these notes of crushed mint leaves and chiselled parsley in the back, the faint mustiness, and these touches of hay and even mild manure.

Mouth: it’s amazing how it roars and kicks you! Grapefruits and oranges in such an old glory, really? Now it hasn’t quite got the complexity that was to be found in the Latour, and it even tends to become a little drying and oaky. Just a little. A little too coffee-ish too. Really nitpicking now! Finish: medium, dry, on cocoa powder and more coffee. So pretty dry and drying indeed, but that’s more than all right. Mind you, 75 years in wood and probably almost 75 years in glass! Gets meatier again in the aftertaste. Dried meats. And raisins! Comments: it is not impossible that this was folle blanche, distilled around the year 1875 from pre-phylloxeric grapes. SGP:451 - 89 points.

And now, the grande finale. Because we already tried some 75 years old malt whisky (thanks to G&M), but never any 100 years old. Will that ever happen? With Cognacs, yes…

Château Paulet 100 ans (no ABV, OB, Grande Fine Champagne, +/-1950?)

This baby’s at least 100 years old indeed, as the label certifies that it’s always been kept in casks and only bottled at time of shipping. And it’s clearly pre-phylloxeric. This time we’re also tasting a brand that’s still quite active and that seems to belong to the house Frapin. Oh and Paulet too have been using crystal decanters made by Alsace’s cristallerie Lalique. Rings a bell? Colour: deep amber. Nose: this old wonder is much more elegant and floral than all the other ones, so more feminine if you like (you sexist!) as well as more oriental, I’d say. Whiffs of incense, reseda, orange blossom, honeydew, fig cake… There’s also a very delicate oakiness, rather around old cedar wood actually, French varnish (obviously)… But the raisins are well there. And so are Cognac’s beloved peaches and apricots! A totally glorious, very complex nose, much more a movie than a picture. A very long movie by Akira Kurosawa…

Mouth: a crazy freshness! But let’s remember one thing, in Cognac they usually fill active wood first (or even new wood, as they cannot, by law, use recycled barrels from any other part of France or of the world), and would soon transfer the distillate to older wood that’s much less active, where it will age at a much slower pace and gain all its complexity. That’s why you may encounter such extremely old Cognacs that remained fresh and lively, and almost never too oaky. In any case, this is just a symphony of ripe peaches, shy(ish) raisins, small oranges, cedar wood, and tiny herbs and spices. Dill, for example. Sure there’s also quite some coffee and bitter chocolate, but both are under control. The ABV feels like 38 or 39%, I’d say, which is more than enough when the spirit’s got much to say, which is the case here. Where’s the anti-malternativeporn brigade? Finish: this is where it loses one or three points, it got slightly flabby and dryish/tea-ish. Just one tiny wee bit. Imagine, 100 years in wood!

Comments: it’s always difficult, when tasting very old spirits, not to take their ‘stories’ into account. Like, the fact that this was probably distilled even before 1850. Your mind will always start to wander off, especially if you like History, arts, politics, or music. Liszt, Wagner, Schumann, Ingres, Corot, Delacroix… SGP:561 - 91 points.

Perhaps one last thing, with these very old spirits, I think it’s probably better not to leave them for too long in your glasses, because some tend to oxidise quite quickly and to become a little bitter/tea-ish and a tad too resinous. I know some experts would rather tell you that you should give them plenty of time (like that one-minute-per-year tale), but believe me, if you keep some 100 years old Cognac at around 40% vol. or less for one hour and a half in your glass before tackling it, it’ll probably have died way before your very first sip.
(And Diego, you rock)

Check the index of all Cognacs I've tasted so far

Pete McPeat and Jack Washback

Happy New Year with...

More old Cognac. Really old Cognac.