Taylor C.

Reviews written: 41 (see reviews)

Average Score given: 86

Review Overview: Best & Most rated, All Reviewers & Reviews

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Bio:

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 !

Laurichesse Le Chai de Mon Pere Fut 301

Highly Recommended 85 /100

Nose: Holy spice-infused oranges! I’ve never tasted such an orange-forward Cognac before. The orange fruit is dominant; it is candied (not fresh); it is spicy, and it is full of character. It even smells as if some of the orange peel, with its zestiness and its bitterness, got in the mix. There is a jam that Bonne Maman makes called Orange Amere. I get notes of that jam with this glass. Underneath the exuberant oranges and spices, there is fresh vanilla, but it really is faint and in the shadow of the fruit and spice. Lastly, just as I pull my nose out of the glass, I smell the fragrant fresh cut cedar wood plank. At the risk of over simplifying this nose, I pick up three main waves of smells: intense spiced candied orange, vanilla, and cedar. This is such an interesting nose, if unsettling as I’ve never encountered one like it before.

Palate: A spicy orange intensity hits the palate from the outset. I’m surprised at the richness of this Cognac. Some of the really mature eaux de vie I’ve tasted increase exponentially in elegance with age. But here, the richness of flavor and texture have ramped up, instead of scaling back, melting, and increasing in finesse. I’m not saying it lacks elegance; what I’m saying is that it is exceptionally rich and mouth-filling for its age. Unsurprisingly, the flavors are of spice-coated oranges, orange peel with some of the white bitter pith mixed in, wood, and even fine dark chocolate with orange zest. The orange citrus notes add to the Cognac’s precision, giving the Cognac direction on the palate. Moreover, there is a graininess to the overall mouthfeel. If this were a wine, I’d say it has grainy tannins. The force of the long period of time spent in oak exerts itself but in a measured way. The grainy tannins are followed by a gentle bitterness, and both the tannins and the bitterness cause my cheeks to cling to my teeth. Let me be clear though, while charming, this is characterful, mouth-filling and singular Cognac. A bad boy in nice clothes one could say.

Finish: As hinted at above, the finish is comfortably astringent and bitter. Single cask Cognacs often have this profile. Think of it as the barrel’s signature on the eaux de vie, an imprint that marks the Cognac for the rest of its days. The flavors linger for a good while, but the length is not something I’d classify as everlasting. Really, this is fine by me though. As long as the flavors and sensations do not fall off of a cliff, I’m content. And here they stick around just enough for me to taste them, ponder them, and then get back to smelling and sipping.

An unexpected and very interesting Cognac!

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