In June 2021, Ysatis and myself visited the amazing cellars of Grosperrin in Saintes. These cellars contain casks from various small family cognac producers selected over a period of 20 years. Unique cognacs that would otherwise probably disappear in blends of one of the 4 big houses. Guilhem Grosperrin kindly showed us the way through this cellar while tasting. Of course there were some casks that caught our attention, at Malternative belgium we're not looking to bottle something of which some versions have already been released. We then bought 2 casks, the '84 (release 2022) and this '73.
This cask comes from the estate of André Bertandeau. During World War II (1942), André was deported to Germany for 2 years for forced labor and was liberated by the Russians. He enjoyed a lot of respect in the region. Not only as a winemaker/winegrower in Salignac-Sur-Charente , he continued to serve the community in support of families who lost loved ones during the war. He has donated his profits to charities throughout his professional career. In December 2016 Andre passed away, his vineyards and stock were auctioned. The proceeds of this were donated to a number of charities such as Doctors Without Borders.
Besides the captivating story behind this cask, this is simply a top quality petite champagne. An absolutely pronounced balanced and straight cognac. What you smell you also get on the taste and finish, no crazyness. Lots of ripe peach, fruit blossoms and mango. The wood is present, in a good sense, because a lot of minty freshness. But also the storage of old books (rancio), black tea and cinnamon sticks. Congratulations, you can blow out the 50 candles!
This cask with an outcome of 492 bottles was shared with Bert Bruyneel of Asta Morris. Each 246 bottles, evenly distributed, as André would have liked it.
