Coldorak's whisky blog.
Just after releasing the remarkable Cognac de Charles, the Cognac Pasquet house presents a Très Vieille Fine Champagne in their Confluences collection. But if Cognac de Charles was reviewed alone, we’ll review this brand new release with two older cognacs from their L’Esprit de Famille collection: the Cognac de Bernadette and Cognac de Jean, both Grande Champagne cognacs.
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For once on More Drams Less Drama, today features a single dram: Jean‑Luc Pasquet’s Le Cognac de Charles, part of the house’s Trésors de Famille range. This cognac traces its roots to the Petite Champagne cru and tells the story of Charles Leroux, whose family left Normandy in 1960 to start anew in Charente. Charles and Monique Leroux took over the family estate in 1975, revived their small still, and pioneered organic viticulture by 1985 – long before it became fashionable. I won’t paraphrase all their history, for that it is best to let you read the story on Jean-Luc Pasquet’s website. I really encourage you to read it.
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We’re comparing two radically different apple brandies: one hails from the famed French producer Christian Drouin, aged 21 years and bottled by That Boutique-y Calvados Company; the other is an English apple brandy of mysterious origin, discovered by Matt McKay in the stocks of London Distillery Co shortly after he took charge. The two spirits are separated by a striking 30% ABV difference. Hold on tight – this is going to be an intense showdown!
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This week opens with two Grande Champagne cognacs, specially selected and bottled by Malternative Belgium last year – both now, regrettably, sold out. Grande Champagne represents the premier cru of Cognac, renowned for producing spirits of remarkable elegance and complexity, as we’ve seen many times in these pages. Malternative Belgium, an independent bottler with a reputation for consistently high-quality selections, is also celebrated for bringing outstanding casks to enthusiasts, and has yet to disappoint even the most discerning palates. I don’t remember reading a bad review from a Cognac they bottled. Given this pedigree, expectations run high for both the Paul Beau Lot 70 and François Voyer Lot 90 Malternative Belgium we’re reviewing today.
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Jean and Amy Pasquet have a unique approach in the world of cognac. Beyond bottling cognacs from other producers under their Trésors de Famille label, they make their own organic cognac range known as L’Organic. This core range features four distinct expressions. Three of these highlight different age statements, specifically 4, 7, and 10 years, while the fourth focuses on the grape variety, known as L’Organic Folle Blanche. Today, our attention is on the first three, including two variations of the 4-year-old, as we explore the Cognac Pasquet L’Organic 04, 07, and 10.
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For France’s National Day, a return to cognac seems particularly fitting. Today’s focus shifts to Bourg-Charente, home to Famille Cabanne – the distillery responsible for that unforgettable and mesmerising 1924 100-year-old cognac. While they produce for renowned cognac and liqueur houses such as Grand Marnier, Courvoisier, and Otard, they also craft cognacs under their own brands: Richard Delisle and La Truffe. As we celebrate Bastille Day and contemplate cognac’s significance and tradition in France, we shall explore the Richard Delisle XO Grande Champagne, XO Club Cigare, and La Truffe XO cognacs.
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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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