Jean Fillioux Lot 63 Grande Champagne Cognac 700ml, 44% ABV

Single cask 1963 vintage Cognac

Nose: Full-bodied, elegant. The heady first nose (iris, peony, carnation) also reveals delicious notes of toffee and wildflower honey. Allowed to breathe, blood orange and red and black fruits (raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, bramble) literally seize the aroma palette. This increased power is accompanied by polish fragrances (walnut stain, dark varnish). Gradually, rose and peony petals land on the surface of the glass.

Palate: At once lively and velvety. The very fleshy and full-bodied (apricot, mango, orange zest) attack develops deeply sophisticated flavours of fig jam and heather honey. The nuanced mid-palate takes on stunning autumnal colours (chestnut, sweet chestnut, porcini mushroom, grape). The powdery (cocoa) and mature end of the palate is exotic (mango, banana, persimmon).

Finish: Long, full. The hot start of the finish (Espelette pepper) reveals notes of rock candy, lime blossom and dark chocolate all linked intimately to one another. The peppery end of the finish is invigorated by a particularly refreshing fruity acidity (orange, kumquat). On the retro-nasal olfaction, balsamic vinegar aromas spread through the air. The empty glass is intensely liquoricey, roasted (coffee) and rancio (prune, melon, ripe grape).

Domaine de la Pouyade in Juillac-leCoq spans 25 hectares in the Grande Champagne terroir and has been owned by the Fillioux family since 1894. This version produced with the Ugni Blanc and Colombard grape, just like the 1975 vintage found in the Cellar Book catalogue, has been aged in a Limousin oak cask and wonderfully illustrates the motto found on the house’s coat of arms, “Prendre de la hauteur pour voir loin” (“Climb higher to see further”). Full and complex, the fruity and floral sequences that guide the palette of flavours and aromas are vibrant examples of this.