Taylor C.

Avis écrits : 41 (see reviews)

Note moyenne attribuée : 86

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Biographie :

French wine, and the concept of terroir, captured my interest early on. Naturally, curiosity took me to spirits, in particular Cognac. Today I'm proud to be a member of the Cognac Expert team managing B2B projects, working on Cognac Expert Originals, and writing bottle reviews for the English Blog. I love to taste anything and everything - rum/rhum, whisky(ey), Armagnac, etc. - but no other spirit grabs my attention quite like Cognac, and all of its subtleties and nuance. Santé !

Prulho XO Fregate

Recommended 81 /100

Nose: Dipping my nose into the glass I’m greeted by a Cognac that smells reasonaly rich. I smell creamy milk chocolate, caramel, hazelnut spread (finer quality than Nutella of course), and buttery pastries. As mentioned above, the aroma notes are rich but very mellow and easy-going. I do also pick up the tiniest note of sweet citrus underneath everything. If this sweet citrus shows up on the palate, I have to believe it will contribute freshness to the Cognac, which would indeed be a good thing.

So this is a pretty agreeable nose. It’s easy to get along with and seems to offer zero challenge to the taster. Some of the more refined spicy oak notes are absent, which diminish the overall complexity, but let’s not forget that this is an XO Cognac and should smell like one. And this does a wonderful job at that!

Palate: Creamy. Well-behaved. Round. There is no spice whatsoever, and the chocolate, caramel and nuttiness sets in on the palate as suggested by the nose. On the midpalate to the finish there is a fine fresh streak lurking that does wonders for this Cognac. Without it, the Cognac could risk feeling a tad one-dimensional, dark, and heavy. But thankfully that’s not the case here. I cannot say if this fresh streak is the sweet citrus I smelled, but whatever it is, it’s present and working well with this Cognac.

There is an underlying sweetness that contributes to the overall rich feel to the Cognac. At the same time, the mouthfeel is relatively fine and gentle on the palate. Sure, this is not a model of complexity, but it tastes really quite good, and offers the taster an idea of what a classic XO Cognac should taste like. Just getting started in Cognac? This could very well be the one to pull you into the rabbit hole. Be careful.

Finish: The finish is short to medium. The flavors stick around for a minimal amount of time before leaving and forcing me to take another sniff and sip - something I won’t disagree with. Ideally, I'd have liked to see a touch more persistence and grip, but I must remember that this XO must be evaluated relative to other XO Cognacs. And when doing so, the finish is just fine. I often find that short to medium finishes enhance the experience for folks who are new to Cognac or for people who prioritize drinkability in their spirits. This is highly drinkable Cognac.

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Mots clés

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Saveur

Bois 5/10

Pimenter 6/10

Fruit 6/10

Fleur 2/10

Conception de bouteille / emballage 3/5

Où est l'amour? Ordinaire Joli Beau Un spectacle à voir !

Le rapport qualité prix 4/5

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