Old Master Spirits' 1960 Peyrot 63 year old Cask Strength Grande Champagne Cognac [Tasted #669]

We're kicking off June with another well-aged #malternative - this time in the form of a 63 year old Cask Strength Grande Champagne Cognac from Peyrot, once again from Old Master Spirits. The gents behind OMS have been releasing spirits at a decent cadence lately - not too often, but a handful a year to keep things interesting. This one will be launched on 20th June, bottled at 42.9% (cask strength) and selling for $349AUD.

(You can read my thoughts on several of Old Master Spirits' previous releases here, including previous vintage and NAS Brandies. In those posts I cover why I love what these guys do, and how their #malternatives are very much, in my opinion, made for whisky lovers.)

Like most (all?) of the distilleries Old Master Spirits work with, Cognac Peyrot is a family-owned House currently in its fifth generation, having been founded in 1893. In 1956 first generation viticulturist Jean Baptiste Peyrot handed over a seven acre vineyard to his daughter Mathilde Peyrot-Barret, and this 1960 was the first vintage she distilled - so quite a bit of history here! 

The grapes here, Ugni Blanc, make up ~98% of Cognac vineyards and are favoured for their high-yield, long aging potential and light, floral profile. The grapes for this particular Cognac were planted nearly 100 years ago in 1928, and after the aforementioned 1960 distillation, the spirit slumbered in Limousin Oak for 63 years.

Old Master Spirits' 1960 Peyrot 63 year old Cask Strength Grande Champagne Cognac (42.9% ABV, 63yo, Cask Strength, France, One of 155 bottles, $349AUD)

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Colour: Burnished orange copper.

Nose: Power and elegance! Fresh coffee grounds, milk chocolate, herbal lozenges, and after time fresh oranges, but also light honey and strawberries.

Palate: Largely follows the nose, with increased citrus (orange) intensity, cake icing, dried apricots, raisins, honeycomb, some more berries (raspberries this time), and just a subtle hint of oak spice.

Finish: Long, slightly herbal, with strong citrus and berry notes. After some time, coffee hints return.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100 (Martin). If you haven't yet jumped into the world of well-aged Cognac yet, this may well be a very good place to start. Whisky-like complexity, power and grace. Eminently drinkable - a " special occasion" spirit you can also drink on a random weekday. For $349AUD, fantastic value.

Their oldest release to date, Old Master Spirits' 1960 Peyrot 63 year old Cask Strength Grande Champagne Cognac goes on sale 20th June 2024, $349AUD. 155 bottles in total.

Thanks Deni & David for the sample.

Cheers,

Martin.

Old Master Spirits' 1974 Chateau Garreau 48 year old Bas Armagnac [Tasted #659]

A while ago I suggested we were covering enough non-whisky dark spirits on the blog to have a "Monthly #malternatives" post. Whilst that hasn't quite come to fruition (see last month's post on our recent blog hiccup...), I don't plan to stop enjoying great malternatives alongside my whisky, and so on that note, here's a #malternative for March...

Arriving once again courtesy of those affable Melburnians behind Old Master Spirits, this release is a 48 year old Bas Armagnac from Chateau Garreau, distilled in 1974 and bottled at a natural cask strength of 51.2% ABV.

(You can read my thoughts on several of Old Master Spirits' previous releases here, including previous vintage and NAS Brandies. In those posts I cover why I love what these guys do, and how their #malternatives are very much made for whisky lovers.)

According to Old Master Spirits (and the producer) 1974's season saw a perfect balance of sunshine and rain. A combination of Baco & Ugni Blanc grapes were distilled using a 100+-year-old traditional alembic column still (from 1919), and matured for 48 years in a single French oak cask from Gascony in Chateau Garreau’s underground wet cellar. 

The Armagnac was bottled in late 2022, but has been delayed to 2024 so those turning 50 years old could have a fairly-priced birthday vintage spirit (as someone who held a birthday tasting last year with ~20 bottles from 1983, I absolutely love this approach). This will be Old Master Spirits' only Armagnac release this year, and there are only 152 bottles.

The thing that sets Garreau apart is its underground wet cellar, built by Prince Soukowo Kabylin in the 19th century. The only underground cellar in the region, it's nicknamed ‘the burrow’ & made simply of four dirts walls, with roots visibly breaking through the dirt. The walls soak up water from each rainfall to keep a wet and humid environment. All casks in use are Gascon Oak from Cooper Bartholomo. 

We've enjoyed all of Old Master Spirits' releases so far - so how does this one stack up...?

Old Master Spirits 1974 Chateau Garreau 48 year old Bas Armagnac (51.2% ABV, 48yo, Single Cask, France, One of 152 bottles, $269AUD)

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Colour: Copper-brown Gold

Nose: Spiced fruit and pot-pourri at first, followed (after some air) by some rich, almost port-like berry notes. There are hints of confectionary, alongside stewed cherries / cherry pie.

Palate: Slightly savoury at first - minced pies, oak, with some herbal dried fruit notes. After some time in the mouth, more fruit comes through - cherries again, apricot and some lemon peel. This is really good stuff.

Finish: Very long, with oak, fruit and Christmas spices in perfect balance. Basically imagine you took a bite of mum's Christmas cake and you could still taste it 15 minutes later. Yum!

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100 (Martin). Another winner from these guys, what more is there to say? Brandy lovers should love this, but I reckon most whisky lovers will too.

Old Master Spirits' 1974 Chateau Garreau  Bas Armagnac 48yo goes on sale this Thursday (14th March 2024) for a very reasonable $269AUD. 152 bottles in total.

Thanks Deni & David for the sample.

Cheers,

Martin.

Old Master Spirits' 1972 39yo Baron de Sigognac Bas Armagnac [Tasted #585]

When I caught up with Deni & David from Old Master Spirits recently, they didn't just hand me a sample of their beautiful 1982 Armagngac, they also passed me a sample of their 1972 39yo, from the same Armagnac producer Chateau Bordeneuve (better known by the name "Baron de Sigognac")

The 10 year age gap also means this 1972 was distilled under the previous ownership, by then owner and distiller Monsieur Rambach (the distillery was sold to current owner Mr. Jean-Claude Gausch in 1974, and is currently run by his son Thomas). Comprised of 80% Baco 20% Ugni Blanc grapes, it was distilled in the same 100+ year old alembic still, and was aged in Limousin wood like all Armagnac produced at the distillery.

The eagle-eyed amongst you might note that whilst this is from a decade earlier than the 1982, it's also listed as a 39yo (the same as the 1982). The simple reason for that is the age is only counting the years matured in Oak, noting the extra 10+ years it sat in a glass Demi Jeanne (Demijohn) separately.

As mentioned in the previous article, the House has an all-natural, no additives policy - no water, sugar, colouring or any of that nature, and everything is bottled at cask strength (this one coincidentally right on 46%)!

Let's dive in...

Old Master Spirits 1972 39yo Baron de Sigognac Bas Armagnac (46.0% ABV, 39yo, 1 of 151 (500mL) bottles, France, $299AUD (available 20th October 2022))

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Colour: Orange copper

Nose: Rich vanilla wood spice, Madagascan vanilla essence, with hints of stone fruits - apricot, peach, then some leather and wood polish.

Palate: Initially quite "desserty" - vanilla ice cream, flambéed banana, then a hint of cherry after time. There's some funk (less so than the 1982), and some grape jam to round things out. 

Finish: Long, vanilla wood spice.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 92/100. A complex, well-made and thoroughly enjoyable Armagnac. For me, the 1982 slightly edges it out, but in my view it's more of a "whisky drinker's Armagnac", whereas this is more of a "brandy drinker's Armagnac". A little more traditional, but very, very high quality. I spoke to Deni about this, and he said opinions from those who've tried both were split - some preferring the '82 (including some whisky-loving friends), and some the '72. Isn't that the beauty of spirits though?

Old Master Spirits 1982 39yo Baron de Sigognac Bas Armagnac will launch on 20th October 2022, at an RRP of $299 through oldmasterspirits.com.au. Get in quick as these never last long!

Cheers,

Martin.

Old Master Spirits' 1982 39yo Baron de Sigognac Bas Armagnac [Tasted #582]

Just over a year ago, I wrote about new Aussie independent bottler "Old Master Spirits", started by two whisky (and brandy) lovers Deni & David. Since then, I've been lucky to taste almost all their releases (including a 1957, 63yo Cognac - not bad for an inaugural product!), and more recently spent an evening with the gents in the comfort of Deni's incredible whisky room, enjoying great spirits and even better chat until the early hours.

The gents were kind enough to pass me a pre-release sample of their upcoming release - again grape-based, but this time an Armagnac - specifically a 39yo 1982 Armagnac from producer Chateau Bordeneuve (better known by the name "Baron de Sigognac").

Old Master Spirits continue their label theme, with scenes from the distilleries / Chateaux by the talented Fai

I won't profess to be an expert on any grape-based spirits (or anything, really), so won't attempt to coverall the complexities of how Cognac & Armagnac differ (for that, see here, here and here), but in a nutshell - in addition to being produced in a different part of France and often using alternative grapes, Armagnac is most commonly distilled in a single Alembic / column still, employing continuous distillation. In the case of Baron de Sigognac, said still is over 100 years old!

The Domaine matures stock in a warehouse from 1840, in a mixture of first fill and (mostly) refill casks - all strictly Limousin oak. Importantly (for Old Master Spirits, and for us) the House has an all-natural, no additives policy - no water, sugar, colouring or any of that nature...and everything is bottled at cask strength!

All grapes are pressed, fermented and distilled at the Domaine exclusively for the production of Bas-Armagnac. In the case of this 1982, those grapes are 65% Baco, 25% Ugni Blanc & 10% Folle Blanche.

So that's some quick background on how it was made...but I'm sure what you all want to know is how does it taste?

Old Master Spirits 1982 39yo Baron de Sigognac Bas Armagnac (47.6% ABV, 39yo, 1 of 122 (500mL) bottles, France, $249AUD (available 25th Aug 2022))

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Colour: Orange copper.

Nose: Cherries, rich fruit compote, peaches & cream, with a hint of funky old leather and rum'n'raisin dark chocolate.

Palate: Mouth-coating, warming yet very refined. Raspberry jam, oranges, mandarin, and then soon after, a noticeable earthy funk. I'm somewhat hesitant to say this, lest one of the keyboard warriors on my Facebook page claim I'm "biased" or "paid" again (I'm neither)...but f*ck it - the funk here genuinely reminded me a little of a good Springbank. This is a spirit you can sit, savour and soak up the complexity, but it's also one you can just sit back with a tumbler and enjoy.

Finish: Long and sweet, with more rum'n'raisin notes.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. This score seems to be becoming a theme amongst some of Old Master's releases...but in my view it 's justified. I tried this alongside a different, older Armagnac (more on that soon), which to me was much more of a "typical brandy". Very very good, but instantly a Brandy. This 1982 though, to be this is, in my opinion, a whisky drinkers' Armagnac. 

Old Master Spirits 1982 39yo Baron de Sigognac Bas Armagnac will launch this Thursday (25th Aug 2022) at an RRP of $249 through oldmasterspirits.com.au. I’ll be buying a bottle. 

Cheers,

Martin.

Thanks to Deni & David who provided the sample of this 1982 Bas-Armagnac (with absolutely no expectations that I write about it, or if I do, what I say!)

Tasted #560: Spiritus' 1983 Jean-Luc Pasquet Petite-Champagne 38yo Cognac

We don't feature a lot of Cognac on the site (what with being "Time for Whisky" and all..) but on the odd occasion we do, it's usually something pretty special - single cask, independently-bottled, etc... 

So upon hearing about Spiritus, a new Hong Kong-based independent bottler of Cognac, it's fair to say my interest was piqued - doubly so as the people behind Spiritus are known and well-respected members of the local whisky community.

Spiritus' first release saw them bottle a single cask Petite Champagne Cognac from Jean-Luc Pasquet, distilled in 1983 and bottled in Sept 2021 at 38 years old. Single cask Cognac from Jean-Luc Pasquet seems to be popular amongst whisky lovers, with Old Master Spirits (in Australia) and Wu Dram Clan (in Europe) also bottling casks I've written about recently. I enjoyed all of those, so was keen to see how this 1983 fared (especially being a birth vintage for me)!

Spiritus Jean Luc Pasquet Petite Champagne Cognac 1983-2021 (50.7% ABV, 38yo, France, $1,580HKD)
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Colour: Deep orange copper.

Nose: Super fruity - peach, stewed pears, kiwi and strawberry. Some furniture polish, followed by freshly ground coffee and puff pastry (I mean, "croissants" would just seem too obvious right?)

Palate: Follows the nose but adds plums and white grapes, leather, and some oak but balanced nicely. Milk chocolate and a slight savoury note round things out.

Finish: Medium in length, with some residual tropical notes and earl grey tea towards the very end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. A fantastic first bottling!

A big thanks to Spiritus for the sample. If this is a taste of things to come, we can't wait to see what the future holds (and we shouldn't have to wait too long, as the next release has already been announced - this time a 1971 50yo Grand Champagne Cognac).

Cheers,

Martin.

New Australian independent bottler "Old Master Spirits" & their 1957 Cognac [Tasted #531 & #532]

Instagram can a wonderful place for whisky lovers. Sure, there's content galore, but more than that, it's a place for like-minded fans to meet, share stories / thoughts / tasting notes, and in many cases develop real-world connections.

I'd been following David (@whisky.nerd) on Instagram for a while, occasionally chatting here and there, recognising a similar appreciation for whisky as myself (especially those from Japan, Scotland and Australia), when he noticed that I'd recently posted about Cognac, and its growing interest from whisky lovers. David mentioned he was bottling a few Cognacs independently for the Aussie market, and would I be interested in reviewing them?

(Well of course!)

Old Master Spirits is the result, and their launch bottlings aren't your every day Cognacs, with both a 1957 (63yo) and 1984 (36yo) to be released next month. 

The Cognacs (the 1957 a Fins Bois, the 1984 a Grande Champagne) come from Jean Luc Pasquet who act as both a distillery/producer, and negociant (and saviour of old, rare Cognac casks from the hands of blenders). These two bottlings come from JLP in their latter capacity, and thanks to Old Master Spirits' desire to share the stories of not only the Cognacs but the people behind them, there's some great detail behind each one.

We know for example the 1957 was distilled by Jean Aubineau (who is still alive and releasing incredibly rare Cognac today) and the 1974 by Claude Hillaire, who together with his wife Arlette, took over his father's vineyards in the 1970s and now see their grandchildren continuing to tend to the vines and produce Cognac in Angeac-Champagne. 

There's more about each cognac on the Old Master Spirits website.- worth a read for anyone who might be interested.

Unlike whisky, Cognac over a certain age can be transferred from cask to glass demijohns, and can legally continue to "age" from then until bottling (for example, a 1900-distilled Cognac transferred from cask into demijohn in 1980, and bottled in 2000, could legally be called a 100yo Cognac, despite "only" spending 80 years in oak). 

I asked Deni Kay, co-owner of Old Master Spirits about this, and he mentioned both their Cognacs had spent their entire life in oak casks prior to bottling - noting it was an important factor for them. 

Also unlike whisky, Cognac can (and very often does) contain additives other than caramel colouring, including sugar and Boisé (a goo made by boiling wood chips....yes really). Plenty of commercial, big-name Cognacs will contain these, but enthusiast cognacs, often bottled as single casks, generally remain unadulterated. It goes without saying that these two Cognacs fall into the latter camp, having been bottled with no added colour/sugar/additives, at natural cask strength, without chill filtration and from single casks.

It's not hard to see that the team behind Old Master Spirits are true dedicated whisky / spirits lovers.

So, provenance, age, purity and branding, tick (not to mention extra kudos for starting a new independent bottler label in Australia), but how's the liquid? 

Let's find out....

Old Master Spirits 1957 Fins Bois Cognac Jean Luc Pasquet (47.6% ABV, 63yo, Saint Simeux, France, $429AUD)

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Colour: Firey orange-gold.

Nose: Earthy stone fruits at first, with creme caramel and sweet toffee chews. With time things become more tropical - pineapple, green grapes and mango. There's a slightly grassy note, and after a while a slight sea saltiness. A very complex and enjoyable nose.

Palate: All the fruit from the nose carries through to the palate, with mature citrus fruit as well. There's an "old malt whisky" like note of wood polish and vintage cigars, though the oak is very much in balance and not overpowering - impressive considering the Cognac spent 63 years in it.

Finish: Pineapple and guava, peaches and a lingering sweetness.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 93/100. A very well-made, complex and delicious Cognac, with none of those "acetone" notes I've found on some Cognacs (even some near this age).

Old Master Spirits 1984 Grande Champagne Cognac Jean Luc Pasquet (53.8% ABV, 36yo, Angeac-Champagne, France, $229AUD)

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Colour: Golden-orange copper.

Nose: Fruit-driven, with strawberries and cream, slight citrus spice, red jelly babies and hints of mint.

Palate: Sweeter than the 1957, with more confectionary notes - fairy floss ("cotton candy" for our American readers), pink jelly beans, and some slight wood polish notes. Raspberries follow, with 

Finish: Mint at first, then sweet oak, ripe apples, pears and a residual strawberry sweetness.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 91/100. Not as complex as the 1957, but far from simple and absolutely delicious. A great contrast to the 1957.

(It should be noted that whilst Old Master Spirits provided generous samples of both Cognacs for this review, I enjoyed them so much I've ordered a bottle of each.)

Both Cognacs are being released on 1st Sept (7pm AEST) via Old Master Spirits' website, and due to the very limited quantity, are being released in 500mL bottle format (70 bottles of the 1957, 168 bottles of the 1984). Sign up to their mailing list for 24 hour presale access here.

Cheers,

Martin.