Passion for Whisky recently sourced some cognac from Malternative Belgium. This Lot 19.14 comes from an undisclosed bouilleur in the town of Burie. It comes from the Borderies region and spent 30 years in a dame-jeanne. The owner was a producer of alambics and the father of this man bought it from a family estate. There were only 39 bottles in the dame-jeanne.
Cognac Lot 19.14 – Borderies (42,1%, Malternative Belgium for Passion for Whisky 2023, 39 btl.)
Nose: rather dense, with honey and some syrupy notes, as well as some half-dried apricots and stewed pears. Subtle hiffs of peonies and of violets. Red berry candy and candied orange peels. Hazelnut cream and cinnamon cake, or rather Dutch gingerbread. Nicely melted together.
Mouth: pears and peaches again, although there’s a clear hint of aged wood up front as well. Slightly thin in the middle, perhaps a little tea-ish, with some tannins and nutmeg. Never astringent though. Some fig sweetness and yellow plum appears, as well as cinnamon syrup and liquorice. Just a few drops of herbal bitters.
Finish: not too long, but fresh and reasonably vibrant. Fruit tea, marmalade and fading herbs.
The delicate fruitiness of Borderies works well alongside the tannins, even though it’s not the most talkative cognac ever. This was distilled during World War I, so the elegance and integrity of this cognac make this quite special. Exclusively available from Passion for Whisky.
We stay with Malternative Belgium. Pieter also signed a deal with Belgian importer The Nectar. Four family cognac houses that he knew very well will now be distributed by The Nectar with Pieter as a B2B representative, so to speak. The houses involved are Daniel Bouju, François Voyer, Lhéraud and Vaudon. We will review a whole series of official bottlings from these houses in the near future, by the way.
To celebrate this partnership they selected a Grande Champagne Lot 79 from Daniel Bouju.
Cognac Daniel Bouju Lot 79 – Grande Champagne (51,8%, Malternative Belgium & The Nectar, 300 btl.)
Mouth: full-bodied and rather on the dark side again. There’s a citrusy side but the wood-driven, spicy flavours are louder. Hints of molasses and tobacco leaves, with a few drops of herbal (cough) syrup. The woody side also brings flashes of floral honey and hints of Demerara rum. Herbal tea and caramelized nuts towards the end.
Finish: long, rather drying, with hints of caramel, marmalade and liquorice.
Bouju stands for a darker, more oxidative and plump style of cognac, with quite an overt woody character as well. Closer to armagnac in a way. Not necessarily my preferred style of cognac, but of course Pieter pulls it off with a nice selection that is not too heavy. Available from Broekmans for instance. Score: 90/100