98 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Tesseron family (currently the proprietors of St.-Estèphe's Lafon-Rochet and Pauillac's Pontet-Canet) made its fortune in the Cognac business, and it is one of the few families to possess ancient stocks of great vintages that have not been diluted with water or manipulated in any manner. They released small quantities of Lot 29 (1929), which remains the most ethereal Cognac I have ever tasted. I'm no expert, but their newest release, the 1953, seems close in quality to the 1929. Slightly darker than the 1929, the 1953 is pure silk, which at this alcohol level is very dangerous indeed. The complex aromatics can fill a room. (Hedonist's Gazette) (2/ 2007)
96-100 points Wine Enthusiast
The nosing passes find an oaky/nut paste aroma with fruity notes of berries, dried fruit, plums, pears and soft cheese. The palate entry is composed, succulent and honeyed; by midpalate the flavors deepen to include caramel, rancio and orange rind. Finishes beautifully with depth, finesse and maturity. (12/ 2006)
Cognac Tesseron is without question the ultimate Cognac house. Although the American "wine guru", Robert Parker, does not usually deal with spirits that much, he has fallen for the house's products to such an extent, and not least Lot No. 29, to which he has given the rare but highly sought-after 100 points!
Cognac Tesseron specializes, as this slogan suggests, in high-end cognacs. As their marketing slogan suggests, they only produce "XO and Beyond", so cognacs from the XO age onwards. From their ancestral home Domaine Tesseron in Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, which lies between Cognac and Angoulême, the Tesseron family traditionally used to sell its eaux-de-vie to the large cognac houses. But in 2003 they decided to release a range under their own family name. The Tesserons are also active in wine production, owning Château Pontet-Canet – a Pauillac classified property producing Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux wine.
The self-assurance that once characterized the Cognac district has turned to despair in the last decade. The otherwise well-established image of the cigar-smoking wholesaler sitting in his soft armchair and swinging the bowl of cognac has turned towards the district as the consumer has gained greater social awareness, and the otherwise promising market in Asia has become hit by economic depression. Nothing is so bad that it is not good for something. It is often in times of economic pressure that the biggest changes and initiatives take place: Over the past few years, the cognac style has been improved and refined, so that the area today produces better cognac than ever before.
The Cognac district is divided into 6 areas: Bois Ordinaires and Bons Bois are in the absolute outer zone. Closer to the main town are Fine Bois and Borderies, and around the town of Ségonzac we find the last two areas, Petite Champagne and Grande Champagne.
In total, the district covers 1,132,500 ha, of which 80,000 are mainly planted with Ugni Blanc. Each of the mentioned areas gives its characteristics, but it is in Petite Champagne and Grande Champagne that you must look if you want to know why cognac is the world's best brandy. It does not matter which base wine you use when distilling cognac. The wine is reduced during the process, and only the right base wines can produce and enhance the best basic properties. A bit like a chef reducing his sauce to produce a greater intensity and concentration. The liquid is distilled twice. The first burn, "brouillis", has an alcohol percentage between 27 and 30%, but it is distilled an extra time to increase the alcohol percentage. The first distillate, also called "la tête" (the head), and the last "la queue" (the tail), are collected separately. The middle part is called "le coeur" (the heart), and it is this part, with an alcohol percentage between 69 and 72%, that is subsequently stored.
2 1/2-3 years is usually the standard cognac of the Cognac houses, often with 3 stars on the label, while VSOP is a softer and friendlier cognac with a minimum of 4 1/2 years of aging behind it. The designations XO, Napoléon, Très Vieux etc. guarantee that the cognac is at least 6 1/2 years old. Fine Champagne is a blend of cognac from the Grande and Petite areas, of which Petite must make up no more than 50%.
It is the aging in the oak cask itself that gives the cognac soul and quality - and the prices are often based on how long the cognac has been in the cask.
