Héritage René Rivière Vieille Réserve tasting notes

Héritage René Rivière Vieille Réserve 40%

Another Borderies on Hors d’Age, but this one is quite special: here is the Heritage René Rivière Vieille Réserve !
Héritage René Rivière Vieille Réserve tasting notes 2
4.4/5

HÉRITAGE RENÉ RIVIÈRE VIEILLE RÉSERVE 40%

Borderies Finest? 

Héritage René Rivière. Well, there is so much to say about this cognac house. Take a retired History teacher, a cognac stock that has survived two World Wars and some incredible stories about a family legacy. Add some of the most flavored eaux-de-vie from the smallest cru and you get something truly unique. This Héritage René Rivière Vieille Réserve is a 50yo+ cognac from the Borderies and you have to know that they stopped the distillation in 1981 (their whole stock is in demijohns). Yes,  it’s necessarily something special to taste. Let’s go ! 

Colour: Old gold, orange lights. Regular heavy tears

.Nose: A massive rancio is escaping from the glass. Very buttery. Very licoricy. Fresh leather scents too. And heady smells are arising, especially on orange blossom. This nose is so rich. Camphory a bit. Coffee beans, roasted pepper. Fresh butter. Nice breakfast scents for sure. Violet syrup in the background. Here are the Borderies. Speculoos, orange zest caramel, gingerbread. Fresh milk with its typical rich notes. Some humidor smells now. Wet undergrowth. Milk chocolate. Cocoa powder. Magnificent nose.

Palate: Sweet texture, a little syrupy. Acidulous violet notes, like berlingots sweets you know. Strong cigar aromas and spicy notes. The whole palate is full of aromas. A great mix of acid, bitter and toasted notes like a ristretto. Mahogany, speculoos cream, bitter chocolate. Cinnamon stick. Salted butter caramel. Quite floral aftertaste. Wow. This H. René Rivière Vieille Réserve is delicious. The lovely combined sensations to bite into a great candy and smoke an opulent obscuro cigar. The mouth length is outstanding. One of the strongest rancio I’ve ever tasted. Chestnut cream, ristretetto, fresh mushrooms. Sichuan pepper aftertaste. Violet sweets. Fresh butter again. 

Last Notes: With more air, it’s even more rancioted, especially on coffee notes. It is spicier too, particularly on paprika and cinnamon (a bit of the spiciness that I found in a younger Borderies : the Grateaud Napoléon). Pinesap, linseed oil, wet undergrowth. Candied citruses. Candied fruits. Orange zest caramel. Few nice bitter notes. Maybe a little disappointing in terms of ABV. I have the strong sensation that 42% could have been better, mostly for the palate part. It ends on cocoa powder, chocolated milk and violet sweets (again and again). 

This Héritage René Rivière Vieille Réserve is a magnificent cognac. Exceptional for many reasons. What a rancio…The nose has a great evolution and the palate too. I give 90+ for the nose and maybe 88+ for the palate. Quite a nice experience for this first Héritage René Rivière. And this isn’t the last on Hors d’Age…

My very subjective note: 89+/100

Héritage René Rivière website 

Héritage René Rivière Vieille Réserve tasting notes 2
Cognac Hors d'Age Top 3 tasting notes

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