DELAMAIN VESPER X.O 40%
Sittin’ On The Dock of Jarnac
Facing Braastad, surrounded by Duquai, Hine, and (a little further) Courvoisier, here is Delamain, proudly established since 1824 in Jarnac. There are many things to say about Delamain in cognac history, but that’s not the topic of this review. So let’s get back to the tasting part. This Delamain Vesper is the middle one of Delamain’s core range, sitting between the Pale & Dry and Le Très Vénéré. Around 35yo, often shown as what great assemblage of G.C should be, 40%. Let’s go!
Colour: Orange, gold lights, small regular tears
Nose: Nice start on citruses and camphory notes. Great roundness on nutty scents, especially hazelnut cream. A tad of acidity in the background, mainly on orange/tangerine juice. A tad of floral and mineral notes too, I’d say on rosewater and violet blossom for the flower part and chalky scents for the mineral shades. Slight leather notes as the first tiny sign of rancio in this Vesper.
Palate: Sweet/soft texture. Very fruity in the beginning. A full bowl of plums at first. Raw fruits: apricots, young peaches, and plums. Delicate spicy notes on caraway and cinnamon. A warm cognac with intense fruity aromas. Not the most precise G.C ever but a good work of assemblage here. As a reminder of the nose, still a tad of acidity, this time on fresh lime juice.
Last Notes: Raw raspberry and strawberry for the nose part now. Still some light violet blossom scents too. Nice touch of humid wood in the background, another occurrence of the 35yo+ rancio. Definitely some wood scents with more air. And what about the palate? Nice mix of fruits and spices. Pear syrup, tangerine juice, and plums syrup are counterbalanced by great dashes of caraway and black pepper. Linseed oil and pine bark in the aftertaste. Little raspberry/blackberry notes in the end. Quite a disappointing finish for this Delamain Vesper to be honest.
« There’s nothing closer to perfection than the most beautiful specimen of Grande Champagne, whatever its age. » That’s what Robert Delamain claims in his famous « History of cognac » (published circa 1935). Well, if this one isn’t a perfect G.C, it’s certainly a very nice work of assemblage, full of fruity aromas and owning some nice rancio shades. A lack of something to reach the level of a Navarre Cravache d’Or or a Michel Forgeron X.O, and that’s not only a matter of ABV. But that’s my humble opinion and I guess that’s probably the style of G.C that other cognac lovers would prefer.
Typically the cognac to sip while watching a movie, a full tablet of chocolate next to your hand. So let’s say that Vesper-Lindt could be the perfect combo (sorry about this one, the temptation was too strong).
My very subjective note: 86+/100
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