A very old cognac, produced from grapes from the Grande Champagne region and bottled by The Whisky Agency. The vintage isn’t mentioned on the label, but I believe the No.24 indicates a 1924 vintage. Exactly eighty years later it was transferred to glass demijohns (paradised as they say).
This was pretty much a stealth release. I saw an open bottle passing by on Facebook once, but never on sale. With just 38 bottles, it’s more of an insider release, I guess.
Cognac Grande Champagne
Lot 19 No. 24 (43,1%, The Whisky Agency 2016, 38 btl.)
Nose: certainly darker than the Petite Champagne. Slight hints of toffee and blackcurrant jam, dark plums and a hint of coffee. Then the complexity unfolds and the tropical fruits come out. Mango, pineapples, guava. Like a 1960s Bowmore, but with more wine / sherry influence, so to speak. Also similar beeswax, leather, more tobacco now, topped with light floral touches. Wonderful.
Mouth: still those tropical notes, now with a little more sourness (passion fruits, lime) alongside the pineapple and mango. Hints of blackcurrant leafs and tobacco. Also a hint of smoke (from the wood). Then the slightest metallic touch. Sappy resins. Hardly any woody notes though.
Finish: long, totally elegant, with mint and very soft spices.
For me this is (almost) on the same level as the Vallein-Tercinier Lot 65, although that one is slightly more exuberantly tropical (making it a bit more narrow too). High complexity, lovely tropical fruits, hints of whiskies from a long gone era. Who would have thought that The Whisky Agency could become a reference for cognac as well? I’ve never seen this in stores though, probably just for insiders.