Chateau de Beaulon VSOP "Folle Blanche" Single Estate Cognac (750ml)

The Cognac category is in a strange place. Once the absolute top dog of the spirits business, today the major houses are playing defense. The big brands are hurting, and the sad truth is that their struggles also hurt the small estates that support those giant operations. But if you care about the little guy, K&L has always offered access to great independent producers who would otherwise remain off most people’s radar. While the romance of small producers is undeniable, the real reason we sell these Cognacs over those from the big houses is that the price-to-quality ratio is simply astounding. This famous estate near the Gironde is situated in a unique little section of the Fins Bois around the town of Mirambeau, an island of higher-quality soils carved out of the less-regarded Bons Bois. As we have noted many times over the years, soil quality has less to do with the potential to make delicious Cognac than with the likelihood of distilling exceptionally age-worthy eau-de-vie. For that reason, we have often preferred younger spirits from the Fins Bois and Bons Bois to similarly aged examples from the highly prized Grande and Petite Champagne crus. But this special estate does not merely possess exceptional soils. It seems to be doing everything right, yet almost no one stateside has heard of it. Its old-vine vineyards are among the most picturesque in all of Cognac, while the château and cellars are second to none. Nevertheless, here we are selling a seven-year-old VSOP, which would have qualified as XO before the regulations changed in 2018, distilled from old-vine Folle Blanche for just $65. It seems that few people are listening to the Cognacais, but if you open your mind to the extraordinary value these products provide, you may discover that Cognac is ready to become one of the world’s great spirits categories once again. Let’s taste this special treat. The color is a radiant auburn. The nose delivers an absurdly ripe bouquet that seems decades beyond its stated age. Perhaps the magicians at Beaulon are blending some significantly older stock into this beautiful Folle Blanche. Aromas of sweet caramel sauce, apricot jam, roasted oak, Seville orange peel, cubeb, ajwain, and saffron leap from the glass. The palate is exceptionally well balanced and rounded without becoming syrupy or excessively caramel-driven. Instead, a vivid burst of baking spice cuts through the opulence and dries the mid-palate. Medium-bodied and impressively persistent, though not interminable, it occupies a beautiful middle ground, offering some of the aromatic depth of very old, rare Cognac while retaining plenty of zesty verve on the palate. Perhaps it is the Folle Blanche that creates this thrilling dichotomy, but at this price, it is simply a steal.