Cognac Tasting: L’esprit de Tiffon 200 Year Old!

L’esprit de Tiffon 200 year old Cognac

I know this is a Whisky Blog but when Wealth Solutions gave me the opportunity of tasting a 200 year old cognac I simply could not resist!

Well who would?

And this blog is all about quality after all and this Cognac certainly fills that criteria!

Last Tuesday the Tiffon Cognac house and Wealth Solutions launched a limited edition of the L’esprit de Tiffon cognac.

The celebration was attended by Richard Braastad – Maitre de Chais of the Tiffon cognac house and Edward Bates, a BNIC educator.

L’esprit de Tiffon is a cognac made of distillates from the private cellar (the so-called “paradis”) of Sverre Braastad, where the oldest Cognac is dated back to 1805.

All of the cognacs used in the blend date from before the phylloxera bug devastated the French wine and cognac industry from the 1860’s onwards.

This catastrophe forced the French vineyards to re-plant with a different, more hardy species of vine.

My more modest sample!

Consequently, the taste of all French wines and cognacs changed forever – so this release is truly a taste of history – and one that can never be repeated.

A book was also specially prepared for the launch of L’esprit de Tiffon by Nicholas Faith, a prominent cognac expert and recognised writer, which contains information on the Braastad family, the Tiffon Cognac house, as well as the cognac in question.

The demand for L’esprit de Tiffon has been such that all of the decanters were sold ahead of the official launch event (I shudder to think what each decanter cost but I’d be surprised if the cost for each was below £5,000.)

Nicholas Faith described it thus: “L’esprit de Tiffon – it’s got floral notes, it’s elegant, it’s rich. It is delicious! What is ridiculous about it is that cognac well over the century-old is still so young!”

Edward Bates, an expert from the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), added: “To find a blend, that is made from pre-phylloxera Cognac, basically doesn’t exist. It’s a window into another time, something that just wasn’t available. Until now.”

Take a look at this You Tube video to get an idea of how special a cognac this is.

Tasting Notes – L’esprit de Tiffon Cognac

Nose: Sweet caramel with lovely floral notes. I also detected pleasant, woody, slightly charred aromas.

Palate: Ultra smooth on the palate with amazing passion fruit flavours bursting out.

Finish: A glorious, long finish with summer fruits, mango and slight pepper to perfectly round it off.

Overall: An exceptional cognac, absolutely smooth, a taste to savour and full of life and passion. A real privilege to drink!