Single estate cognac is a spirit as noble and rewarding as single malt whisky, ancestral mezcal, or pot still rum.
Forget any notions of mass-market blends, sticky with added sugars and loaded into crystal decanters. This is about small producers and spirits with a sense of place.
Following up on my recent deep dive into the single-estate cognac producers, here I recommend some of the very best bottles to try off the back of it.
Ragnaud-Sabourin, N° 35 Fonteville
ABV
43%
Price
£193 / $255
Age statements can be a thorny matter in cognac, as the industry broadly favours classification like VSOP and XO, but I have it on good authority that this was aged for at least 35 years. Age isn’t everything, of course, but that’s pretty impressive for less than £200.
Nose: Tarte tatin, polenta cake with oranges, chestnut puree and slivered almonds. Then nectarines, plums and white grapes. Vanilla flowers, lime blossoms and honeysuckle.
Palate: Richly textured and waxy, with more oranges, red apples, apricot preserves, ginger biscuits and redcurrants. In cognac, you’ll often hear people talk about ‘rancio’ – the term for concentrated fruitiness and slightly funky notes that only develop through long ageing in oak. Those rancio notes are present and correct here, bringing light tobacco, coffee beans, and warm tannins.
Finish: Long and palate coating, with more beeswax, vanilla, honey and white miso. Seriously good stuff.
Score: 91
Hermitage, 1995 Grande Champagne
ABV
43%
Price
£165 / $200
Offering vintage bottlings requires producers to jump through various bureaucratic hoops, so many simply don’t bother. David Baker of Hermitage estimates he has about 6,000 litres of various vintages in stock at the moment, but he’s always on the hunt for more hidden treasure in Grande Champagne.
Nose: Antique shop notes of polished oak, linseed oil, beeswax, and old books, followed by apple pie, nectarines, honey cakes, raw chocolate, and walnut wine.
Palate: Ristretto coffee, Brazil nuts in dark chocolate, hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins, and peaches with honey and mint. Cigar wrappers, Italian bitters, rosewood, allspice, and cardamom.
Finish: Dry and long with manuka honey, more stone fruit, and polished copper. There’s a great sense of age here, but it never feels too oaky or tired. An impressive balancing act from one of the great curators of vintage cognac.
Score: 90
Hine, Bonneuil 2010, Berry Bros. & Rudd
ABV
45.3%
Price
£167 / $205
This cognac was distilled by Hine’s superbly talented late cellar master, Eric Forget. I first interviewed Eric back in 2023 and was bowled over by his passion and generosity. We’ll raise this one to him.
Nose: Persimmon, apricot, a Bellini made with fresh white peaches in season, jasmine tea, old white Burgundy, fresh paper, grapefruit zest, and acacia honey.
Palate: Dried pineapple, candied peel, and more peaches. Brilliantly dry and elegant, a world away from the dark and sticky image that follows cognac around. Coriander seeds, fennel seeds, white chocolate, whipped butter, and vanilla.
Finish: light and slightly creamy, a bit of chalk, some lemon curd, and more stone fruit. This is a nice example of the pale, elegant style that Hine has been supplying to BBR for generations.
Score: 88
Camus, VSOP Borderies Single Estate
ABV
40%
Price
£56 / $70
A medium-sized house that has been in business in Cognac’s smallest cru since the 1860s. Eaux-de-vie from Borderies have a reputation for being more robust and maturing faster than their cousins from Grande and Petite Champagne.
Nose: Quince paste, apricot jam, chestnut honey, blueberries, and golden sultanas. Violets, spearmint, eucalyptus, apple blossoms, rosin, and a drop of sweet sherry. That violet note is often said to be a hallmark of Borderies cognac, so it’s nice to find it here.
Palate: Stem ginger, dried figs, prunes, and raisins. Hazelnuts and chestnuts. Huge notes of apricot and honey, candied peel, aged orange curacao, and creamy vanilla.
Finish: Subtle, with lingering sweetness and soft spices. The oak influence is light, so the spirit character really shines here. A great aperitif cognac and an ideal introduction to Borderies.
Score: 84
Vallein-Tercinier, Lot 72 Petite Champagne
ABV
51.3%
Price
£219 / $290
A rare single cask, from a single estate, made with grapes picked in 1972. That lot number is used to indicate the vintage without all the paperwork that comes with actually stating it. Vallein-Tercinier has a serious reputation for quality, so we have high hopes here.
Nose: Punchy. Saffron buns with raisins, dark cocoa powder, and toasted pecans. Then smoked almonds, soft leather, cashew butter, and sesame snaps.
Palate: Vanilla cream, flambéed oranges, orange bitters, dried mango, golden sultanas, salty butter, white tea. A little absinthe and a menthol cigarette, very French.
Finish: Long. Those citrus and anise notes are joined by spearmint and woody herbs. This is completely weird and absolutely delicious, a unique character, exactly the point of single estate cognac.
Score: 90
Frapin, Château de Fontpinot XO Cognac
ABV
41%
Price
£135 / $180
An iconic bottling from a trailblazer of single estate cognac. The Frapin estate sold wine to Rémy Martin until the 1980s, when this venerable house struck out on its own. This cognac was distilled within sight of Chateau de Fontpinot before spending about 20 years in cask in dry cellars, which tend to promote concentration and intensity.
Nose: Peach cobbler, banana chips, allspice, gingersnaps, cigar boxes, then some fresher notes of cranberry and strawberry.
Palate: Nougat with glace fruit and almonds, Portuguese custard tarts, milk chocolate, fruity espresso, real cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace. Almond croissants, dried apricots, and sultanas. Warm earth, tobacco, soft oak. That concentration and intensity we were looking for is hard to miss.
Finish: Silky tannins and lingering notes of almond, coffee, and chocolate. This will be recognisable in style to fans of XOs from the big houses, but the complexity and definition put it in another league altogether. A classic for a reason.
Score: 89
WV Baker, Rare Old Cognac Borderies
ABV
41%
Price
£228 / $300
Former French Air Force pilot Benjamin Baker set up shop in the Fin Bois region of Cognac in 2022, sourcing casks that show unique character and flavour.
Nose: Root beer, genepi, the tiniest bit of wood smoke. Dundee cake, pecan pie, Paris-brest, milk chocolate cookies, pine sap, vine leaves, and hazelnut liqueur. Those Borderies violets come in right at the end, backed up by cherry blossoms and dried rose petals.
Palate: Cola and cocktail bitters, ultra-dark chocolate cake, a slice of bresaola, aged balsamic, plum sauce, star anise, 100-year-old Port, more pecan pie, autumn leaves, Finnish liquorice, dried cranberries, mahogany, cedar, rosewood, oolong tea.
Finish: Sweet, savoury and intense. It just goes on forever. There’s no age statement here, but it’s clear this has been left to mature undisturbed for a very, very long time. This is what small producers like WV Baker offer. This isn’t cheap, but the value for money is just immense. An absolute knockout.
Score: 95
