What We Know
- Age of mostly 4 years, some up to 8 years
- Blend of Petite Champagne, Borderies, and Fins Bois
- Ugni Blanc
- Distilled on the lees
- Limousin oak, 350L barrels
- 40% ABV
- Additives: Yes
- San Francisco World Spirits Competition Gold Medal 2009 and 2010
Nose
Vanilla, honey, allspice, ginger, fruit blossom, toffee, subtle milk chocolate, green walnut, grapes, apple cobbler, pear, lime zest, orange peel, apricot, overripe pineapple, fig
Palate
Caramel, vanilla bean, honey, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, oak, tobacco leaf, toasted almond, apple, burnt orange, peach
Finish
Rich honey and some spice end with oak tannin
Overall Thoughts
Medium amber color with reflections of yellow and some faint red. Upon first nosing, it comes off pretty sweet with some barrel spices. A good amount of pear and orange peel with loads of fresh apricot. There’s some nice ginger and allspice, too. After about five minutes of sitting, more fruit opens up like grapes and figs. There’s a hint of green walnut. On the palate it’s much more focused on the sweet notes and barrel influence. There’s some burnt orange and peach, but not much else for fruit. Cinnamon, black pepper, and toasted almonds meet a little bit of tobacco leaf and some dry oak. The finish is medium length and starts with sweet honey and drops off with some oaky aftertaste.
This expression from Landy is for those of you whom enjoy a Cognac that’s a touch sweeter with some spicy notes. It does have a bit of a bigger, bold flavor, but not much in the fruit and floral department. It’s not at all a bad Cognac and it’s a wonderful value for your money. If you feel like some of the Big 4 VSOP’s are a bit too expensive, this bottle would be a great option for you to try. Any time you can get a VSOP for under $40, that’s a great deal.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use this in a wide variety of cocktails. It would definitely be good in a highball as the soda water would soften it and pull out some fruit and spice. I like the nose best of all. I wish some of the fruits would have carried over onto the palate as I feel it’s dominated by the vanilla and cinnamon. But then again, that’s the flavor profile they chose to express. That being said, I’m certainly not turning my nose up at it. And just like with their VS expression, I really like the unique bottle design. Landy VSOP is a solid buy for mixing up drinks with friends.
