Bache Gabrielsen Hors d'Age Grande Champagne Cognac

You can feel the wood, smell the nuts. Beautiful dark colour - a great Hors D'Age cognac, from Bache Gabrielsen. It's true, this cognac has a fantastic balance. And the price of under 100 € (really?) is very good.

Some say it's one of the best cognacs in the world, especially our Norwegian friends, of course..

Excellent cognac, my wife received a bottle for Christmas from our son and tried it for the first time in today. Very well done House of Gabrielsen.

Appearance: Brown amber color with a rich viscosity.

Nose: Initial fragrance of waffles smothered with butter and maple syrup, the waffles then give way to fruit notes of raspberry sauce and dried mission figs.

Flavor: The initial attack comes on very strong with flavors of honey and French oak, as the alcohol spiked the honey and oak give way to forest floor flavors of truffle and earth. On the long, smooth finish, the oak comes back, this time accompanied by the raspberry sauce detected on the nose.

Overall Impression: For a blend of eaux-de-vie that are 50 to 100 years old I was hoping that the transition of flavors would be a little smoother, but for $200 you are definitely getting a lot of bang for your buck. This blend is for a cognac drinker who wants to smell and taste the cellar vs. the vineyard.