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Marancheville ESSENTIEL
L'ESSENTIEL
A45
NEW Exclusive Limited Edition
RALENTIR - RÉFLÉCHIR - RÉUNIR
X
ABV: 42.8 %
Growth Area: Grande Champagne
Village: Marancheville, Juillac le Coq
Grape Variety: Ugni Blanc
Bottle size: 70 cl
Lot: L45-GC10
Cask: N°60L1, N°60L2, N°60L3
Cask Volume: Three 60L Mini Casks
Natural: No additives, non-chill filtered
Date of last reduction: 2012
Limited Edition: 175 bottles
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Crystal clear and clean nose - very Grande Champagne. Orange marmalade, stewed yellow peaches, slice of juicy ripe fresh mango. Leather and sandalwood essential oil, clean fragrant sweet woods. Warming spices.Interesting tug of war between maturity and freshness, with freshness having the upper hand. Surprising given the age of the Cognac.
Palate: Chiseled and fresh. Undoubtedly a mature Cognac but with a youthfulness that remains intact. Mouth-filling. Good balance between fruit and wood. Candied fruits: orange marmalade, stewed peach, apricot jam. The impact of the three 60L casks is noticeable but the fruit notes and freshness prevent the Cognac from having too strong of an oak signature. There is a heavy dose of spices that lift everything and add to the complexity of the Cognac.
Finish: Very clean and direct. Persistent. Driven by spices and soft earthy wood notes. A closing note of menthol.
Discounts and vouchers cannot be used for Marancheville L’ESSENTIEL.
Free Shipping is not applicable for Marancheville L'ESSENTIEL.
Sorry, all bottles are sold out - forever.
But take a look at the other stunning Marancheville Cognacs we have available in our online shop.
Don't miss out on new releases - sign up to our newsletter.
The second edition of L’ESSENTIEL Season 2 has arrived, this time in direct collaboration with Cognac Marancheville.
This wonderfully mature Cognac comes from vines situated in the heart of the Grande Champagne, notably the communes of Julliac-le-Coq and Marancheville. The terroir is textbook Grande Champagne terroir: Campanian chalk, a chalky limestone soil not unlike the soils found in the Champagne region’s Montagne de Reims and Côte des Blancs. But we’re not talking about bubbly Champagne here. This is Cognac.
Laurent and Gregoire of Cognac Marancheville are vignerons and professional distillers by trade. The vast majority of their time is spent looking after their hectares of vines, harvesting, and then distilling the wines made from each year’s harvest. Cognac blending under their own Marancheville brand is only a mere fraction of what they do. In fact, depending on the year, they will only keep 1-3% of their eaux-de-vie to go into barrel and become part of their personal stock. The other 97-99% of the eaux-de-vie is sold off to a big house under contract. Gregoire states, “It’s from our personal stock that we make all of our blends and Cognacs for Marancheville.” Including this L’ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville.
What is it about this particular Cognac that first caught our attention? Easy. 60 liter barrels. The Cognac for this L’ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville all come from three 60 liter barrels. The little casks were put together with staves of old “roux” barrels. This is quite unique in that the 60 liter size is uncommon in the region and for the fact that the barrels were created out of old, previously used barrel staves, more on that below.
When asked what impact such a small barrel has on the aging process Gregoire responded, “The aging process is accelerated because the ratio of the surface area of liquid to the barrel volume is very high. Consequently, the evaporation is higher than in a classic barrel. This strong evaporation is a necessary evil for a quality aging process.” Note that for Marancheville, like with most other Cognac producers, the standard barrel size is 350 to 400 liters. A 60 liter barrel is a small fraction of the size of a typical barrel.
Reviews (9)
L'ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville
by Roger S.
19 Feb 2023
This bottle of cognac starts off with plenty of oaky wood at the beginning, but later switches to a spicy flavor then to a fruity taste and then back to oaky wood and spice again. There is a certain freshness for cognac this old along with a dryness that I have only experienced in younger cognacs....
Read more
Freshness and maturity here are both impressive
by Serge Valentin
28 Nov 2022
A vatting of three small casks of 60l each, made out of old staves, so do not expect anything bombastically oaky as they do north of Hadrian's wall. The house usually sell their fillings to some large cognac house and only keep a tiny proportion for their own fillings. Let's see if we need to thank...
Read more
A careful cognac that requires time
by Morten V.
17 Sep 2022
This is a very interesting cognac, you need to spend time on. It is quite dark, at first a bit shy on the nose. After some time you will find tones of orange, some pastry and some wood. It is quite delicate in the mouth with both spices and fruit. The finish is also rich on spices. This is an interesting...
Read more
L'ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville tasting
by GG
14 Sep 2022
Nose: immediately sweet spices such as nutmeg, pan brioche or panettone (Italian Christmas cake, from the Lombardy region). It continues with citrus and exotic fruit, jam but also quince. Lastly, a slight hint of wood. Mouth: surprisingly very fresh but also dry, followed by savory and spicy despite...
Read more
Something special and to behold
by Tony M.
18 Jul 2022
Produced from three 60L Mini Casks (Just under 15 gallon), and aged for 45YR with no additives and non-chill filtered. Initially on the nose, I’m blown away by the youthfulness and freshness of the fruit given its age and the size of the casks!! A lovely fruit bowl of fresh oranges, peaches, with...
Read more
L'ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville
by Taylor C.
7 Jun 2022
Nose: The nose is a crystal clear and clean nose. It smells as only a mature Grande Champagne can smell. My nose picks up orange marmalade (confiture orange amère in French), stewed yellow peaches, slice of juicy ripe fresh mango - so a healthy does of fruit, but I struggle to determine if the fruit...
Read more
Small oak barrels are not unheard in the spirits world. Some whisky producers make use of 50 liter octaves in which they finish or entirely age their whisky. A common critique of using such a barrel to age or finish a whisky is that the impact from the oak can be too high, and the resulting whisky has a strong oak signature and can therefore mask some of the characteristics of the distillate. We do not have such an issue with this Cognac, however. The fact that the three 60 liter barrels for this L’ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville were assembled with staves from old “roux” barrels indicates that the Cognac inside benefitted from the higher surface area to volume ratio and therefore the stronger evaporation but without the impact of new oak. Small but used barrels are the key here.
Smelling and tasting confirms just how beautifully the Cognac aged in those small casks. It is a perfect demonstration of just how comfortably Grande Champagne Cognac can age. All crus produce eaux-de-vie with a capability to age, but the Grande Champagne Cognacs are perhaps the best at maturing while keeping intact the clean youthful fruit notes - rancio and fruit, not just rancio.
In closing, Gregoire adds, “This is a unique blend that we will not be able to reproduce. It is the result of chance, many years, and work done with taste.” We love it, our friends Gregoire and Laurent at Marancheville love it, and we know you will too.
Please enjoy and always remember to slow down, reflect, and reunite - ralentir, reflechir, réunir. Cheers!
L'ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville
ABV: 42.8 %
Growth Area: Grande Champagne
Village: Marancheville, Juillac le Coq
Grape Variety: Ugni Blanc
Bottle size: 70 cl
Lot: L45-GC10
Cask: N°60L1, N°60L2, N°60L3
Cask Volume: Three 60L Mini Casks
Natural: No additives, non-chill filtered
Date of last reduction: 2012
Limited Edition: 175 bottles
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Very Fins Bois, candied clementine and orange citrus jam, quince paste, soft earthiness, trace of old leather, slightly resinous, clove spice, sultry, dense, extremely precise
Mouth: Good density, flavor-rich, tight and precise, mouth watering, earthy candied orange-meated fruits (sweet clementine and blood orange), rich miel de fleurs, spice, balanced power from the leather, and wood notes, complex
Finish: Clean and precise, persistent, flavor notes linger on palate and only reluctantly fade away, palate left salivating inviting another smell and taste
$ 207
excl.
TAX
excl. shipping
L'ESSENTIEL
A45
NEW Exclusive Limited Edition
$ 207
excl.
TAX
excl. shipping
Sorry, all bottles are sold out - forever.
But take a look at the other stunning Marancheville Cognacs we have available in our online shop.
Don't miss out on new releases - sign up to our newsletter.
ABV: 42.8 %
Growth Area: Grande Champagne
Village: Marancheville, Juillac le Coq
Grape Variety: Ugni Blanc
Bottle size: 70 cl
Lot: L45-GC10
Cask: N°60L1, N°60L2, N°60L3
Cask Volume: Three 60L Mini Casks
Natural: No additives, non-chill filtered
Date of last reduction: 2012
Limited Edition: 175 bottles
Discounts and vouchers cannot be used for Marancheville L’ESSENTIEL.
Free Shipping is not applicable for Marancheville L'ESSENTIEL.
Reviews (9)
L'ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville
by Roger S.
19 Feb 2023
This bottle of cognac starts off with plenty of oaky wood at the beginning, but later switches to a spicy flavor then to a fruity taste and then back to oaky wood and spice again. There is a certain freshness for cognac this old along with a dryness that I have only experienced in younger cognacs....
Read more
Freshness and maturity here are both impressive
by Serge Valentin
28 Nov 2022
A vatting of three small casks of 60l each, made out of old staves, so do not expect anything bombastically oaky as they do north of Hadrian's wall. The house usually sell their fillings to some large cognac house and only keep a tiny proportion for their own fillings. Let's see if we need to thank...
Read more
A careful cognac that requires time
by Morten V.
17 Sep 2022
This is a very interesting cognac, you need to spend time on. It is quite dark, at first a bit shy on the nose. After some time you will find tones of orange, some pastry and some wood. It is quite delicate in the mouth with both spices and fruit. The finish is also rich on spices. This is an interesting...
Read more
L'ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville tasting
by GG
14 Sep 2022
Nose: immediately sweet spices such as nutmeg, pan brioche or panettone (Italian Christmas cake, from the Lombardy region). It continues with citrus and exotic fruit, jam but also quince. Lastly, a slight hint of wood. Mouth: surprisingly very fresh but also dry, followed by savory and spicy despite...
Read more
Something special and to behold
by Tony M.
18 Jul 2022
Produced from three 60L Mini Casks (Just under 15 gallon), and aged for 45YR with no additives and non-chill filtered. Initially on the nose, I’m blown away by the youthfulness and freshness of the fruit given its age and the size of the casks!! A lovely fruit bowl of fresh oranges, peaches, with...
Read more
L'ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville
by Taylor C.
7 Jun 2022
Nose: The nose is a crystal clear and clean nose. It smells as only a mature Grande Champagne can smell. My nose picks up orange marmalade (confiture orange amère in French), stewed yellow peaches, slice of juicy ripe fresh mango - so a healthy does of fruit, but I struggle to determine if the fruit...
Read more
The second edition of L’ESSENTIEL Season 2 has arrived, this time in direct collaboration with Cognac Marancheville.
This wonderfully mature Cognac comes from vines situated in the heart of the Grande Champagne, notably the communes of Julliac-le-Coq and Marancheville. The terroir is textbook Grande Champagne terroir: Campanian chalk, a chalky limestone soil not unlike the soils found in the Champagne region’s Montagne de Reims and Côte des Blancs. But we’re not talking about bubbly Champagne here. This is Cognac.
Laurent and Gregoire of Cognac Marancheville are vignerons and professional distillers by trade. The vast majority of their time is spent looking after their hectares of vines, harvesting, and then distilling the wines made from each year’s harvest. Cognac blending under their own Marancheville brand is only a mere fraction of what they do. In fact, depending on the year, they will only keep 1-3% of their eaux-de-vie to go into barrel and become part of their personal stock. The other 97-99% of the eaux-de-vie is sold off to a big house under contract. Gregoire states, “It’s from our personal stock that we make all of our blends and Cognacs for Marancheville.” Including this L’ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville.
What is it about this particular Cognac that first caught our attention? Easy. 60 liter barrels. The Cognac for this L’ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville all come from three 60 liter barrels. The little casks were put together with staves of old “roux” barrels. This is quite unique in that the 60 liter size is uncommon in the region and for the fact that the barrels were created out of old, previously used barrel staves, more on that below.
When asked what impact such a small barrel has on the aging process Gregoire responded, “The aging process is accelerated because the ratio of the surface area of liquid to the barrel volume is very high. Consequently, the evaporation is higher than in a classic barrel. This strong evaporation is a necessary evil for a quality aging process.” Note that for Marancheville, like with most other Cognac producers, the standard barrel size is 350 to 400 liters. A 60 liter barrel is a small fraction of the size of a typical barrel.
Small oak barrels are not unheard in the spirits world. Some whisky producers make use of 50 liter octaves in which they finish or entirely age their whisky. A common critique of using such a barrel to age or finish a whisky is that the impact from the oak can be too high, and the resulting whisky has a strong oak signature and can therefore mask some of the characteristics of the distillate. We do not have such an issue with this Cognac, however. The fact that the three 60 liter barrels for this L’ESSENTIEL A45 Marancheville were assembled with staves from old “roux” barrels indicates that the Cognac inside benefitted from the higher surface area to volume ratio and therefore the stronger evaporation but without the impact of new oak. Small but used barrels are the key here.
Smelling and tasting confirms just how beautifully the Cognac aged in those small casks. It is a perfect demonstration of just how comfortably Grande Champagne Cognac can age. All crus produce eaux-de-vie with a capability to age, but the Grande Champagne Cognacs are perhaps the best at maturing while keeping intact the clean youthful fruit notes - rancio and fruit, not just rancio.
In closing, Gregoire adds, “This is a unique blend that we will not be able to reproduce. It is the result of chance, many years, and work done with taste.” We love it, our friends Gregoire and Laurent at Marancheville love it, and we know you will too.
Please enjoy and always remember to slow down, reflect, and reunite - ralentir, reflechir, réunir. Cheers!
$ 207
excl.
TAX
excl. shipping
For a short explainer on the differences and similarities between Seasons 1 and 2 of L'ESSENTIEL, head over to this blog article. It's a worthwhile read as we have just now kicked off Season 2.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Crystal clear and clean nose - very Grande Champagne. Orange marmalade, stewed yellow peaches, slice of juicy ripe fresh mango. Leather and sandalwood essential oil, clean fragrant sweet woods. Warming spices.Interesting tug of war between maturity and freshness, with freshness having the upper hand. Surprising given the age of the Cognac.
Palate: Chiseled and fresh. Undoubtedly a mature Cognac but with a youthfulness that remains intact. Mouth-filling. Good balance between fruit and wood. Candied fruits: orange marmalade, stewed peach, apricot jam. The impact of the three 60L casks is noticeable but the fruit notes and freshness prevent the Cognac from having too strong of an oak signature. There is a heavy dose of spices that lift everything and add to the complexity of the Cognac.
Finish: Very clean and direct. Persistent. Driven by spices and soft earthy wood notes. A closing note of menthol.
More Marancheville Cognacs
And by the way: Marancheville produces outstanding Cognacs. The Marancheville 14/45 Cognac is currently the best rated Cognac in our shop. Our customers rated it 95 / 100 - exceptional.
At the same time, the winner of our 2022 XO Family Tasting with a fabulous 91 points makes the unbelievable round Marancheville XO Cognac. A wonderful buttery nose with a smooth but spicy palate and a long round finish. No wonder this beautiful bottle made the race and conquered all hearts.
Available
Available
