It’s been a while since my last review of a Cognac—almost exactly five years in fact. That review was of the second of two casks bottled by Pasquet for Serious Brandy. Both those Pasquet casks contained very old brandy (from the Petite Champagne region): 57-58 years old. Today’s review is of a Cognac that seems like a sprightly youngster by comparison. Like those Pasquet casks, this Grosperrin (from the Grande Champagne region) is also a sourced Cognac. Whereas Pasquet does make their own Cognac as well, Grosperrin is strictly the Cognac version of a Scottish independent bottler—with the difference that it is their name and not that of the original producer that is on the label. I can tell you that this was distilled in 1988. I’m not sure exactly when it was bottled but I think it might be 2017—at least there’s a strip at the top that seems to say that the contents of the cask were verified in 2017. If anyone knows more about how to read this kind of thing or just knows anything about this specific cask, please write in below. The pertinent information is that the label specifies that it is from Lot Nº559 which produced 330 litres at 48.8%.  That’s a lot of Cognac; is it good? Let’s find out.

Grosperrin 1988 (48.8%; Lot Nº559; from my own bottle)

Nose: Honey and a lot of citrus off the top (orange peel, a bit of marmalade) along with some toasted oak and a bit of toffee and light caramel. On the second sniff there’s some apricot jam in there too. A couple of drops of water brighten it up a little and over time meld everything together nicely.

Palate: As indicated by the palate; the oak is a little thinner here. Good texture and drinking strength. The oak becomes more talkative as it sits and becomes spicier (cinnamon). More balance between the fruit and the oak here too with water.

Finish: Long. The fruit recedes and the oak, spicy and slightly tannic, has the last word. With water the fruit comes back again at the end.

Comments: Very directly pleasurable but not finally very interesting. I’ll be interested to see if/how it develops.

Rating: 86 points