TNs: Fillioux Cognacs

[David McDuff]

The following notes were recently written up from notes taken during a visit with Pascal Fillioux at the Domaine de la Pouyade in February 2004.

La Pouyade

A young, 8-year old Cognac named after the Fillioux estate, La Pouyade is aged in recently used casks and diluted to a final 42%. Though not vintage dated, it is always made from the fruit of a single harvest. Very ripe on the palate, it gave fruit forward flavors with hints of almond and praline on the nose. Pascal obviously considers it the casual Cognac in the line, as he prefers it served chilled with a splash of Pellegrino or Perrier. Though Fillioux produces an intermediate Cognac called Cep d’Or, aged in old cask for an average of 13 years, we skipped straight to…

Tres Vieux

Fillioux’s Tres Vieux bottling represents one of the greatest values in the world of Cognac. It spends approximately two years in new oak before being racked to older barrels for the remainder of its aging cycle. Averaging 25 years of age, the example we tasted that day was a blend of four vintages: 1974, 1976, 1978 and 1979. A beautiful amber orange color preceded a creamy texture, followed by vanilla, butterscotch and orange oil on the palate. Very good length. Pascal mentioned at this juncture that he believes that Cognac is driven by four basic, primary aromas – almond, clove, vanilla and coconut – all of them derived from wood. All other aromas, apparently, are more subtle, more subjective and hint at greater complexity.

XO Reserve

Until recently, the XO Reserve had been a style produced only for family consumption. Finished at a more powerful 44% and showing intense wood and vanillin aromas combined with a hint of bitterness from wood tannins, it represents a blend of vintages averaging 27 years, all spent in the original new barrels. Pascal considers it a cigar smoker’s cuvée. He should know as he enjoys it as such. Apparently, he was convinced to commercialize it at the behest of some fellow cigar aficionados in the Japanese and US markets; these remain the only countries where the XO is available.

Réserve Familiale

This is the tête de cuvée of the estate, a blend which averages 50 or more years of age. The bottling we sampled represented a blend of five casks: three from 1948, one from 1945 and one from 1937. Interestingly, Pascal commented that he does not enjoy the ’37 on its own but he feels that it adds tremendous complexity to the final blend. A silky, rich mouthfeel delivered peach, mango, baking spices, orange confit and vanilla but showed none of the heat or edginess of the XO Reserve. Again, purely new oak was chosen to fit the long aging regime. Pascal reiterated that he rarely produces vintage Cognacs, preferring to blend in order to marry the best aspects of multiple casks and multiple years. That said, we would finish the day’s dégustation with a trio of single year Cognacs.

“V” 1975

A non-commercialized single cask at 46.5% which, at the time, Pascal expected to eventually become a component of Tres Vieux. Its textures were thinner and leaner with more aggressive aromatics than in the finished Cognacs we’d tasted thus far. Loads of vanillin drove home its intense flavors.

“F” 1975

Another non-commercialized single cask, this one at 48%, selected from the same lot, year and row in the chais as the “V.” This spirit showed lighter color in the glass and was even leaner on the palate, yet its aromas were more high-toned and elegant. Very smoky, less vanillin, it was more complex but less powerful than its brother. The differences derived completely from the singular evolution in each barrel.

1924 Vintage Cognac

Having been moved from barrel to glass demijohns in 1973, this single year Cognac represented approximately a 50-year barrel aging process. Once a Cognac is moved to demijohn, evolution and development are halted. Very dark amber in color, the nose gave rancio aromas of vanilla and nut oils. In the mouth, it was far less fruity than the younger and blended Cognacs, more smoky, earthy, woody and nutty. Its length, though, was incredible. At the time, this was one of only two vintage Cognacs ever commercialized by the estate, the other being a 1948.

These notes were excerpted from a much longer narrative about the estate and their production methods. The full story can be found here:

- Le Tour de Cognac: Stage One

- Le Tour de Cognac: Stage Two

[eje]

Hi David!

Welcome to the cocktail forum!

Thanks for the excellent tasting notes on this cognac producers line.

Color me envious.