Delamain Tres Venerable Grande Champagne Cognac unboxing review
Channel: DOPE STUFF
Date: 2020-08-19

Summary
Average Price (ex-tax)
$454
Aggregated Critic Score - 0
90/100
User Rating - 0

4 Stars - Very Good
1 ratings
Producer
Delamain
Region/Appellation
Cognac Grande Champagne

Country Hierarchy
Cognac, France
Grape/Blend
Brandy
Alcohol Content
40%
Critic Reviews
90
100
Aggregated Critic Score 
1 Score
95 - 100
0
90 - 94
1
85 - 89
0
80 - 84
0
75 - 79
0
0 - 74
0
92
100
Non Vintage
Wine Enthusiast
Tasted: Mar 2006

Tasting review
Liquorice Vanilla Honey Rancio Floral Spices Wood Oak
Eye: Polished mahogany.

Nose: Floral and spice give way to complex aromas of incense, dried fruits, vanilla, licorice and honey. Remarkable complexity and all the subtlety of a truly great Cognac.

Palate: An initial freshness and delicacy on the palate unfold into mature flavours underscored by rancio and rich fruitcake. Perfect balance and exceptional length on the finish. 

Description
Delamain Très Vénérable de Grande Champagne Cognac: Simply an Icon
Delamain Très Vénérable Grande Champagne Cognac is blended from 100% Premier Cru Cognacs averaging 45 to 50 years of age, which have been reduced by natural evaporation to approximately 45% alcohol by volume. When reducing this Cognac to bottle strength, Delamain utilized the faibles - older, lower-strength Cognacs - rather than water, ensuring that nothing would dilute the flavor which time has created. Introduced in 1976, this rare Cognac is one to inspire respect and reverence. 

Before bottling, all of Delamain’s eaux-de-vie lay waiting in their humid cellars on the banks of the River Charente. Each cask is exclusively crafted from aged French oak, allowing the closely-packed fibres of the wood to limit the influx of tannins. In turn, this helps to preserve the fruity flavours and more subtle nuances of the Cognac, but it also requires a longer maturing process. The different eaux-de-vie of the blend are first aged separately, but then married together in a cask for a minimum of two years to allow all the flavors to integrate and develop in harmony. 

The House of Delamain’s unrivalled passion for creating vintage Cognac has been passed down from generation to generation since 1759, the year when James Delamain left Ireland to settle in Jarnac as a Cognac merchant. His grandson Henri founded Maison Delamain in 1824, and today the 9th generation of the Delamain family still runs the company - with a total of fifteen employees. Known for keeping to extremely old-fashioned production methods, they are also the only Cognac producer which exclusively releases Cognac aged XO or older. While they pride themselves on their Grande Champagne AOC, Maison Delamain prefer to not be tied to any specific winegrower or purchasing contract, instead of selecting individually the finest wines available every year. 

Arguably having reached the maximum age at which Cognac can improve, Delamain Très Vénérable is both venerable by name and by nature. 

Presentation of the Bottle
The bottle design for Delamain Très Vénérable is elegant, with a gently curved profile, dark glass embossed with the Delamain logo and a slim neck covered with gold foil. The unusual label design is taken from a French Revolutionary banknote. A dark presentation box, decorated with gold lettering, completes the package. 

How to Enjoy Delamain Très Vénérable de Grande Champagne Cognac
To enjoy this finely crafted Cognac at its best, serve as a digestif in tulip glasses at room temperature. It’s also the perfect accompaniment to desserts or a cigar.

Delamain's excellent Très Venerable Cognac de Grande Champagne, blended from spirit averaging 45-50 years of age, and cut from a strength of 45% down to 40% using ol  eaux-de-vies to maximize the depth of flavor. Incredible

Delamain is a family-run Cognac House and one of the older houses still in business. Not as widely known as some other cognac brands, what it lacks in name recognition, it makes up for in quality. Made from some of the best micro-terriors within the already small growing regions. Selected, distilled, aged, blended, and bottled under strict procedures and conditions, many of its cognacs are unique in age and certainly by quality. Other cognacs in the house portfolio include: Pale and Dry XO, Vesper, Extra de Grande Champagne, Vintage Millesimes and Reserva de la Famille.

First Impression: Sweet oak notes, apricots,champagne raisins vanilla, caramel, and oily nuts and fleshy mushrooms. Very seductive, distinctive and understated.

Appearance: Attractive red/gold color, with a flash of gold at the edge when you look closely leaves thin coat on swirling. Could be mistaken for a bourbon in color.

Taste: Slightly sweet, oaky with lots of intense dark fruits, notes of vanilla; juicy with a heavy mouthfeel. Imagine a dry lighter version of a ice wine – a intensely concentrated one. Full bodied, mature, extremely long finish. . .really luscious.

Drinks: Worked well in a Black Pagoda (basically a brandy Manhattan -see Gary Regan’s Bartenders Bible) and a few co