The history of the Mauxion family goes back a long time. In 1575 Pierre Mauxion was born in Houlette, a small village that is still the home of the family. They have been distilling cognac since 1743 and the house is now run by the 13th generation, and they’re now related to Prunier when it comes to management and distribution.
In Belgium and Luxemburg Mauxion is now distributed by Wine4You. Ivo selected three expressions: a Lot 56 Petite Champagne, a Lot 31 Borderies (from a producer who inherited a family stock dating back to 1914) and a Lot 14 Borderies. All single casks matured in humid cellars as far as I can tell.
Mauxion Sélection cognac Lot 56 ‘Petite Champagne’ (45%, OB 2021)
Nose: beautifully elegant, with sweet fruits and minty notes. Dried apricots, orange peel and yellow raisins. Mint tea with honey. Some blossomy notes and bergamot, as well as polished furniture and a whiff of leather. Hints of gingerbread and caramel in the background. Quite excellent.
Mouth: more punch than I expected from the ABV. Also more on dried fruits, including apricots, plums and tangerines. Darker dates and fudge. The (pepper)minty notes make a return, now mixed with subtle earthy notes, cinnamon and dried ginger. Dark herbal honey. Hints of nutmeg.
Finish: quite long, slightly rustic with herbal tea, bittersweet fruits, dark spice and some oak.
This is the more robust expression, showing some nice power. Dark fruits, spice and a subtle earthiness in a nice composition. Great start of this session.
Mauxion Sélection cognac Lot 31 ‘Borderies’ (43,5%, OB 2021)
Nose: there’s a bigger hint of varnished oak here, with less of the sweet fruits that are so obvious in the 56. This heady profile converges with a very subtle garage smell (engine oil, diesel), I like that. On top of this, there’s a subtle nutty layer. Hints of violets. After a while plums and apricot jam come out.
Mouth: sweet and sour fruits. Figs and sour berries, with hints of walnuts and bittersweet spice. Cinnamon and clove. Still this oily, slightly industrial note as well. Earl Grey tea. Grapefruit and marmalade towards the end.
Finish: medium, with a slight tannic edge, some bitterness of citrus peel and leafy notes.
This style has more rancio and less weight. It struggles to express itself completely after the Lot 56. Good cognac but I miss some fruitiness and there’s a woody edge in the finish. The most expensive bottle but not my favourite. Score: 87/100
Mauxion Sélection cognac Lot 14 ‘Borderies’ (41,2%, OB 2021)
Nose: a lot less talkative than the others at first, but it opens up nicely, mainly on floral notes. Fairly thin, almost eery fruits here, like sour berries. Orange cake and orange blossom. Walnuts. Vanilla cake. Very refined and very juicy, which somehow fits the soft character.
Mouth: quite light but not dry. Spearmint, fresh oranges, even some lighty tropical notes (pink grapefruits, passion fruit). Fruit tea. Subtle dried herbs. Some spice but this is surprisingly vibrant and fresh. It’s quite smooth, and there’s no sense of tiredness or tannins.
Finish: not too long, but still very fresh, with hints of fruit tea, fruity acidity, marmalade and berries.
Of course you can’t expect a big body here, but the freshness and delicate fruitiness are flabbergasting. Matured well over a century yet still a lot to say, and so very drinkable as well. Because of the lower ABV it costs pretty much the same as the others, so I would go for this one. Score: 90/100