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Chainier XO Grande Champagne Cognac

Recommended 84 /100

see 6 reviews

Cognac age
XO
Growth area
Grande Champagne
Bottle size
700ml
ABV
40%

Taylor C.

Reviews written: 41 (see reviews)

Average Score given: 86

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

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 !

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Chainier XO Grande Champagne

Recommended 82 /100

Nose: Nice nose here! It smells like there is a lovely alliance between fruit and spice. It does not have the age where a strong oak signature might stick out, and even though twenty years old is anything but young for a Cognac, it does not yet have the maturity to hit the wafty aroma profile like other more mature Grande Champagne Cognacs. From the first sniffs, it seems to do a good job straddling youthful bright fruit and spicy oak maturity. There is a pastry note as well. At the risk of sounding random, I also pick up a generic woodsy men’s perfume - Jovan Musk was the cheap men’s perfume I recall lying around the bathroom back in the day. Out of curiosity I looked up that perfume's base notes and they are as follows: lime, pepper, carnation, lemon, amber, lavender, spearmint, exotic spices, woods and musk. Not too surprisingly, with the exception of carnation (no idea what that smells like), those aroma notes are somewhat spot on for this Cognac. I find it funny how the mind can unknowingly wander when tasting and take me to a smell so random as Jovan Musk, a smell I haven't smelled in twenty years, easily.

Anyways, this is a very positive nose. This Chainier XO smells like a benchmark Cognac.

Palate: Yes. The first thing I notice is the freshness of the Cognac. There is zero ounce of heaviness. This is elegant and light on its feet. It has a round mouthfeel without being too high on the richness scale - so the richness does not compete with the feeling of freshness. As far as fruits go, imagine a fruit cup (Dole was my brand of choice as a youngster) with sweet pineapple, peaches, pears, and the stray grape or two. And let’s not forget the fruit juice/syrup in that cup as well. There is also a slight taste of vanilla and a more general feeling of tasting something dessert-y. But again, there is no feeling of sweetness or heaviness here. The Cognac is balanced and lively; each sip invites the next. I’m really enjoying this. It ticks all of the boxes for an XO quality Cognac, and more.

Finish: The finish is moderate at best, and the flavors and other sensations only linger for a short while before leaving entirely. But I keep coming back to this feeling of freshness. This Cognac, from the entry all the way through to the finish, feels so bright, so lively. The drinkability is off the charts here.

Tags

  • Ginger
  • Pastry
  • Peach
  • Pear
  • Spices
  • Vanilla

Flavour

Wood 6/10

Spice 5/10

Fruit 7/10

Flower 4/10

Bottle / Package Design 2/5

Where is the Love? Ordinary Nice Beautiful A sight to be seen!

Value for Money 5/5

Overpriced Low Average Bargain Steal

Tasting

Nose

What aromas do you get when you sniff the Cognac? Do you get hints of fruits or flowers - perhaps it's sweet? Is it intense or rather flat - and most importantly, is the nose coherent to taste and finish? The nose is the most important part when tasting Cognac.

20/25

Mouth

A small sip: Allow your taste buds in the various areas of your mouth to distinguish the different flavours. This part of cognac tasting is described as ‘the palate’. Don’t just swallow it down; allow the liquid to touch all the regions of the mouth. Doing this is necessary as the taste buds pick up contrasting flavours in the different areas of the mouth; on the tip of your tongue to the sides, for example. Take a tiny sip to prep your palate for the sensory experience to come. Take a second larger sip, and gently roll the cognac around, etting it come into contact with every corner of your mouth. Focus on the perceived textural sensations. Are the sensations round and rich or fresh and elegant? Is the overall mouthfeel intense, balanced, disjointed, or lacking presence? In short, how does the cognac feel in your mouth?

17/20

Taste

Quite simply, what do you taste as you gently roll the cognac around in your mouth? Pay close attention to any flavors of fruits, flowers, oak, and spices - or a complex combination of those elements. Are the flavors cohesive with the Nose and the Mouth, giving a sense of balance and complexity?

22/25

Finish

The ‘finish’ is the experience you get after you’ve swallowed the cognac. What flavours can you detect? Is it a flat or rough finish and rather sharp, or is it a slight 'punch' you like? How long does the finish last? Also think about overall balance: How does the finish compare to nose and taste?

15/20

Overall Impression

Consider the Nose, Mouth, Taste, and Finish simultaneously - the cognac as a whole. Is there cohesion between the four categories, or does the cognac shine in some areas and appear dull in others? Quite simply, is the memory from the tasting experience one that will last your lifetime; is the memory good but nothing extraordinary; or is the cognac’s impact entirely forgettable?

8/10

Total: 82/100

  • 80-84: Recommended
  • 85-89: Highly Recommended
  • 90-95: Exceptional
  • 96-100: Superlative
Flat Acceptable Fine Excellent Ethereal Thin & weak Disjointed Balanced Exquisite Bland Ordinary Good Excellent Spectacular Non-existent, or rough Acceptable Good Memorable Endless Uninspiring, or rough Ordinary Good Excellent Memorable
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