Louis Royer VS

Louis Royer VS

Brandy: Cognac
From: All
House: Louis Royer
Style: Blend
Colour: Amber
ABV: 40%

N: raisins, honey, blackcurrant cordial, orange blossom, hints of caramel.

M: Medium body, thickens, slippery, cool.

T: Sweet. Honey, orange blossom, sugarcane, raisins, hints of palm sugar.

F: Long. Sugarcane, caramel, orange blossom, vanilla,

Comments:

I'm not keen on additives to my spirit, or indeed on any messing around with it, except for wood. I prefer my whisky free of caramel (colour be damned), and ideally unchillfiltered. Although all the whisky distilleries insist that additives make no difference to taste, I believe that it does. In the same way, I prefer no sugar be added to my brandy, except perhaps for the very narrow exception of Metaxa, and certainly not in my cognac (although I'm not even sure if this is allowed - it probably isn't).

However, this cognac tastes quite sweet, in a slightly unalluring way. Sweet notes of sugarcane are the predominant flavour, although there is something floral underneath. There's caramel as well, something really quite strong. Perhaps my palate can't quite capture the nuances of this cognac yet, but I didn't really enjoy it - too sweet perhaps, and certainly not very interesting.

Verdict:

Not bad.

H by Hine VSOP

H by Hine VSOP

Brandy: Cognac
From: All
House: Hine
Style: Blend
Colour: Amber gold
ABV: 40%

N: cinnamon, cloves, apple blossom, lilies, peaches, merlot grapes.

M: Light body, cool, slightly astringent, loose.

T: Sweet. Peaches, apple blossom, fresh baked bread, honey, lilies, hints of cloves.

F: Short. Green tea, merlot grapes, orange peel, hints of raisins.

Comments:

An introductory expression from one of the four great cognac houses, one that I found very impressive. It's touted as one of the most floral of Hine's cognacs, and it's not just floral, it's spiced as well - heavily so. Lots of cinnamon and cloves, fruit and even the most intense note of lilies.

I must say, as far as introductory expressions go, this is extremely good. It's a mystery to me why some of the cheaper cognacs are lacklustre, after all they're meant to entice people to drink more cognac, and more expensive cognac to boot. If one is apathetic about the drink as a whole it's hardly going to make one buy more.

Anyway, here's to Hine and Frapin, two houses with extremely interesting introductory expressions. Yes, I will certainly concentrate on those in the future.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Ragnaud Sabourin VSOP

Ragnaud Sabourin VSOP

Brandy: Cognac
From: Grande Champagne
House: Ragnaud Sabourin
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber rose
ABV: 41%

N: Camphor, raisins, black tea, butter, hints of peach.

M: Medium body, cool, astringent, thickens slightly.

T: Bitter sweet. Raisins, butter, blueberries, peaches, camphor, hints of cinnamon.

F: Medium. Peaches, raisins, cinnamon, hints of sea salt.

Comments:

My first cognac from this rather small house, with exclusive vineyards in the Grande Champagne region. All very exciting!

This cognac is rather herbal, with big bass notes of camphor, alongside buttery fruit. The camphor is almost acrid in its intensity, but in a good way. It's bittersweet, intense and flavourful, fading to a spicy, salty finish. Excellent stuff.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Comte de Ferragut 3 Star

Comte de Ferragut 3 Star

Brandy: Armagnac
From: ?
House: Comte de Ferragut
Style: Blend
Colour: Amber
ABV: 40%

N: Butterscotch, vanilla, caramel, hints of chocolate

T: Medium body, loosens slightly, slippery, warm

F: Sweet. Raisins, vanilla, butter, cocoa, peach jam.

T: Short. Cocoa, raisins, butterscotch, hints of black tea.

Comments:

This armagnac is from a mystery house. Much googling and searching in reference books only leads me to sale listings, and a reference on the famous Whiskyfun website that says, in effect, "never heard of this house". It's a 3 star, so a VS in old money, rather young, probably under 4 years old.

The brandy is not bad per se, it's quite substantial for young spirit. There's plenty of chocolate, almost malty chocolate, alongside plenty of fruit, including some very interesting notes of peach jam. I quite enjoyed this.

Verdict:

I like this.

Máxime Trijol VSOP

Máxime Trijol VSOP

Brandy: Cognac
From: Grande Champagne
House: Máxime Trijol
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber gold
ABV: 40%

N: Vanilla, black tea, honeysuckle, dried apricots, leather, thyme.

M: Light body, loose, thickens slightly, a little sticky.

T: Sweet. Dried apricots, cherries, honey, raisins, sugar cane.

F: Medium. Sugar cane, honey, cherries, hints of thyme.

Comments:

I file this VSOP as 'in between' the last XO I had and the last VS I had. I suppose this means that age designations do work, in some general sense, with brandies. Indeed, based on the limited sample that I've had so far, they are surprisingly reliable. I found that I could tell older brandies from younger, simply from how the flavours meshed together. However, within the categories, it was difficult to pinpoint relative age.

Anyway, I found this particular brandy quite intensely sweet. It was perhaps even a little sickly, although it remained just the right side of the line for me. The top-notes were dried stone fruit, even some sugar cane, but there was sufficient herby fragrance to keep it interesting.

Verdict:

I like this.

Frapin Chateau de Fontpinot XO

Frapin Chateau de Fontpinot XO

Brandy: Cognac
From: Grande Champagne
House: Frapin
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber, red highlights
ABV: 41%

N: raisins, figs, dried apricots, dried orange peel, cinnamon, dark chocolate.

M: light body, slippery, loose, tingly.

T: Bitter sweet. Raisins, figs, almonds, elderflower, orange peel, hints of coffee.

F: Medium. Figs, elderflower, cinnamon, coffee, hints of dark chocolate.

Comments:

This is my first Frapin, a very first taste of what the smallest of the great cognac houses can do. Rather surprisingly, it's superb. This is an XO, but it's not a particularly premium one. Yet it's intense and rounded, yet refreshing and light. There is a gigantic wedge of dried fruit, shoved into my mouth, but it's offset with some floral, spicy notes, even some slightly bitter top-notes reminiscent of coffee and dark chocolate.

This brandy has something I prize very much - complexity allied to intensity. There are many interesting dimensions to explore, and I very much enjoyed sitting contemplatively with the glass in my hand. The pleasure I derived from nosing, tasting and thinking this beauty was immense. I look forward to trying more brandies from this house.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Jules Gautret VS Cognac

Jules Gautret VS Cognac

Brandy: Cognac
From: Petite Champagne
House: Jules Gautret
Style: Blend
Colour: Dark gold
ABV: 40%

N: raisins, soy sauce, nail varnish, cloves, lemon zest.

M: light body, slippery, loosens, cool.

T: bitter sour. Lemon zest, pear drops, brown paper, white grapes, hints of cookie dough.

F: short. Fresh baked bread, soy sauce, white grapes, sultanas, vanilla.

Comments:

This brandy is marked VS, and it's about 2 years old. I've not had many this young, and I don't think I will going forward. There's a balanced quality to aged spirits, something very pleasant and mellow, like time somehow melds the flavour notes together, rounding off all the harsh edges and making them fit more harmoniously.

Instead, this brandy is unbalanced, lots of flavour notes that clash, one on top of the other. It's a little confusing. However, all the components of a great spirit are there - the fruit, the texture, the spice - and it just needs some time to come together.

Verdict:

Not bad.