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Fahrenheit 173 - Aged Spirits
"If it's not good enough to drink slowly, then it's not worth drinking"
Four cognacs in the "XO" to "Extra" range | 18 Apr 2011 | ||
Here's a review of four cognacs I bought for a recent tasting. I also dug out an old favourite - Bisquit VSOP - to use as a reference.
Le Reviseur XO:
Nice nose with dried fruits (prunes, figs), apple pie with cinnamon, mint, vanilla and oak.
Rich, sweet, rather nice palate, citrus, mint, custard, drying, develops oak and a little heat.
Nice finish, yet dry with mostly oak. All in all it's rather nice - and good value.
(87 p)
Léopold Gourmel Age des Fleurs:
Fruity nose with dried fruits (plums, figs) and fresh citrus, also oaky with a note of mature cheese -
complex, unusual but rather nice. Lively, powerful, fairly intense palate - nice, sweet and fruity
at first but drying, develops herbal notes and oak shavings.
Hot, dry finish with mostly oak. All in all interesting and quite nice but a little splintered.
The most expensive of these five cognacs but tied for the worst... (Ok, the least nice!)
(87 p)
Bisquit VSOP:
Mild but very nice nose with oak shavings, figs and citrus. Complex, elegant palate with dried fruits and oak in a beautiful
balance. There are also light, fresh notes of custard, citrus and mint. Oaky, spicy, very nice finish.
A very nice cognac - the nicest VSOP I've tried and also great value! Sadly, it's rather hard to find.
(89 p)
Jean Fillioux Très Vieux:
Fragrant, very nice nose with oak, vanilla, cinnamon and fresh apple juice. Mild palate with oak, raisins, cinnamon and mint.
It's drying and develops more oak (oak shavings) but also fresh notes of vanilla and citrus - very nice. Oaky, fairly dry yet nice finish.
(89 p)
Delamain Vesper:
Subtle, complex nose with oak, cinnamon and black tea, also light notes of vanilla, citrus. Smooth, sweet, balanced palate
with oak, vanilla and citrus. Very nice! Fairly dry yet very nice finish with oak and vanilla. All in all wonderfully balanced.
(90 p)
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