This Grosperrin 25 ans Bons Bois cognac comes from a winegrower-polyculteur in the Chalais region, on the edge of the Dordogne. His grandfather started the business in 1901, and it was continued by his father and then by himself. This elderly winegrower was forced to cease his activities in 2003, for lack of a buyer.
Distilled over a wood fire in a small still, this is a cognac with a complexity worthy of its terroir of origin. Indeed, the Bons Bois terroir benefits from a combination of interesting factors, such as altitude (110 meters), typical soils (raw sands, deep clays), and practices that are often artisanal due to the smaller vineyard areas than in the other crus (with small, specially-shaped stills).
Bottled in November 2021, this cognac has undergone no treatment apart from the addition of a little water during aging to slightly reduce its degree. It was partly aged in Saintes, in the Grosperrin cellars on the banks of the Charente.
Nico's tasting notes
The nose greets us with a lovely marmalade of just-crushed red fruits, still breathing summer in full force. Set against a woodiness of unprecedented elegance, these fruits begin to detail their flesh, their seeds, their skin, and even a little of their stems.
Air and rest allow a beautiful beeswax to set in, impregnated with the pastry aromas of almond, kernel and vanilla, all of which become increasingly concentrated thanks to the support of a wax that now resembles encaustic.
The palate is gently spicy and vinous, with thick drops of overripe grape juice. The apricot and peach pits have a coppery sheen, moving to prune and later to almond. The delicacy of the texture is matched only by the aromatic richness and gourmandise that reign in this typically autumnal basket of dried fruits and nuts.
The finish is very long, with mellow tannins and fine pepper.
"A great eau-de-vie full of gourmandise and elegance, where the tannins are transformed into a thousand nuances of fruit..."
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