Fifty Best Cognac
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Courvoisier Cognac Barrels

 

Tips for tasting Cognac

  • Use a tulip glass. Thanks to its wide bowl and narrow neck, the tulip glass concentrates Cognac’s nose and allows you to best appreciate the spirit’s subtlety and layers of aromatic complexity. The glass is also easy to hold and is great for admiring color.
  • Don’t warm a Cognac or any fine wine or spirit too much or you will accentuate the alcohol, not the aromas.
  • Swirl Cognac gently. Cognac is packed with aromas and needs less oxygen than wine for the aromas to reach your senses.
  • Put your nose close to the glass but not in it. (For the same reasons as above.)
  • Take a sip. Keep the spirit in your mouth for 2 or 3 seconds before you swallow.
  • Wait 45 seconds. You’ll experience the fullest range of flavors and aromas from about 45 to 90 seconds after sipping.

 

  Grade: XO  

Ragnaud-Sabourin 35

Ragnaud-Sabourin
Domaine La Voute
35 yrs old (all from same year)
Triple "S" / Grande Champagne
43% abv

Fragrant orange marmalade, vanilla bean, flint, and brown spice aromas. A soft supple entry leads to a rich, dry, yet fruity full-bodied palate, with vibrant peppery spices, caramel, and ashy minerals. Finishes with a long charred wood, dried apple, toffee, and white pepper fade. Elegant and supple with a great combination of fruitiness, peppery spice, and terroir-like minerality.

International Review of Spirits Award 2006 Gold Medal (Rated 93 points, Exceptional).

 

  Grade: XO  

Château de Montifaud
Heritage Louis Vallet
50 yrs old
Triple "S" / Petite Champagne
40% abv

Rich, sweet aromas of toffee, smoky brown spices, cedar, and sandalwood. A lush entry leads to an intensely rich fruity full-bodied palate with vibrant dried fruits, toffee, and lavish brown spices. Finishes with long spicy, raisin, and dark caramel, and pepper flavors. A rich super-smooth Cognac with deep flavor and Christmas cake spiciness.

International Review of Spirits Award Platinum Medal (Rated 97 points, Superlative).

Château de Montifaud

 

  Grade: XO  

Château de Montifaud
XO
30 yrs old
Triple "S" / Petite Champagne
40% abv

Exceptional aroma of dry fruit & nuts (grilled almonds), "rancio" apparent, as it should be in cognac this age, with hints of spices. Very fresh, little tannin, exceptionally smooth and long.

International Review of Spirits Award Gold Medal (Rated 94 points, Exceptional).

Château de Montifaud

 

  Grade: XO  

Ragnaud-Sabourin
Florilège
45 yrs old (all from same year)
Triple "S" / Grande Champagne
46% abv

Incredibly deep aromas of dried autumn fruits, toffee, rich brown spices, toasty oak. A rich, velvety sentry leads to a dry-yet-fruity full-bodied palate of rich brown spices, dark caramel, cocoa, and roasted nuts. Finishes with a very long fade of smoky oak, peppery spice, and dried fruits. Exquisitely proportioned and balanced. Near perfection.

International Review of Spirits Award 2006 Platinum Medal (Rated 98 points, Superlative).

Ragnaud-Sabourin Florilege 45

 

  Grade: XO  
Rémy Martin

Rémy Martin
Extra
35 yrs old
Blend / 90% Grande Champagne, 10% Petite Champagne
40% abv

Fragrant honeysuckle and narcissus. Candied plums, rare spices, saffron and precious sandalwood. Satiny. Pure yet intense, refined, long and lingering finish. Winner Gold Medal, International Review of Spirits Award.

 

  Grade: XO  

Paul Giraud
Vieille Réserve
25 yrs old
100% hand-harvested
Triple "S"/ Grande Champagne
40% abv

Soft, delicate, sweet. Nose of stone fruit. Palate shows subtle, honeyed fruit. Mid-to-long length on finish. A best buy.

Paul Giraud

 

  Grade: XO  

Leyrat Glory Extra

Leyrat
Glory Extra
40 yrs old
Petite Champagne
45% abv

Old gold in colour. The nose has remarkable floral freshness with leafy undertones. This first impression yields to fine spice, notably cinnamon and pronounced aromas of stewed fruit and quince. The palate is exceptional for its smoothness, packed with peach and apricot flavours, with a hint of resin and honey in an elegant and powerful finish.

Spirits Challenge London 2010 Gold Medal

 

  Grade: XO  

Paul Giraud
Très Rare 40 yrs old
100% hand-harvested
Triple "S"/ Grande Champagne
40% abv

Very soft complex nose, slight cloves and pepper. Warm mid-length palate with slightly peppery final edge. A true reflection of a 40-year old cognac. A best buy.

Paul Giraud

 

  Grade: XO  

Le Reviseur ORIGIN XO

Le Réviseur
Extra ORIGIN
Petite Champagne
Naturally reduced over time;
cask strength of 45% abv

Golden amber in colour. A powerful first nose is driven by spice and honey, evolving towards pepper and cinnamon, with a soft honey and buttery richness. Dense palate, and at the same time clean and slightly dry. Excellent with a great cigar!

International Wine and Spirit Competition 2010 Gold Medal and Best in Class

 

  Grade: XO  

Louis Royer
XO
Blend / Grand Champagne, Petite Champagne & Borderies
42% abv

Deep copper mahogany color. Tremendously promising aromas of caramel apple, nutty praline, polished wood, cola nut, tobacco and sassafras. A silky, fruity-yet-dry medium-to-full body. Ending in a vanilla pod, honeyed spice cake, oak, and mossy earth accented finish. Powerfully delicious and ethereally balanced with oak. The virility never turns aggressive, enabling one to fully savor the cognac's lingering taste and remarkable finesse.

International Review of Spirits Award Gold Medal (Rated 94 points), SF World Spirits Competition 2010 Gold Medal, International Wines & Spirits Competition UK 2005 Gold, Concours General Agricole Paris Gold medal.

Louis Royer XO