What We Know
- Age of mostly 4-8 years, small percentage of older stocks
- Over 240 eaux-de-vie used in the blend
- Fine Champagne
- 65% Grande Champagne, 35% Petite Champagne
- Ugni Blanc
- Distilled on the lees
- Limousin oak for aging
- 40% ABV
- Additives: Caramel coloring and sugar
- San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2017 and 2018 Double Gold Metal, International Spirits Challenge 2018 Silver Medal
Nose
Caramel, vanilla bean, fruit Danish, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, jasmine, toffee, mocha, oak, tobacco, slight leather/old furniture, roasted hazelnuts, wet forest floor, baked pear, lemon zest, candied orange, dried apricot, overripe pineapple, figs
Palate
Caramel, honey, butterscotch, fruitcake, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, dark chocolate, fresh sawdust, mint, almonds, gravel/dusty, apple, grapefruit zest, orange juice, dark cherries, raisin
Finish
Nutty flavors move into flowers like rose pedals/lavender and ends on some ginger with dried fruits
Overall Thoughts
Such a striking color of mahogany with red and copper flecks. There is so much going on in the glass with this Cognac. Vanilla bean and fruit Danish hit you right away. There are layers of mocha and oak notes with toffee that are fairly upfront, but underneath that the rich, earthy notes of tobacco and a little leather come in nicely. There’s almost a wet forest floor aroma, like moss. Past that, the fruits weren’t super apparent, but what stood out the most was fig, candied orange, and baked pear.
The nose and palate were actually fairly similar and didn’t stray too far from each other. The biggest differences would be that the palate had more dry, tannic oak than the nose and noticeable dark fruits. There is jasmine on the nose and rose or lavender on the palate. After adding some water, the caramel and vanilla really stood out more and the spices were subdued causing the fruit to be more at the forefront.
This Cognac is named 1738 because that’s when King Louis XV gave Rémy Martin a royal accord to use his land to plant vineyards. In honor of that important year, they created this blend. Technically, this is a VSOP as the youngest in the blend is over four and under 10 years old. But there are definitely some older ages in this blend. I’ve said this many times about this specific expression.
If you’re a whiskey drinker this is a great gateway Cognac. The amount of body it has and oak influence is something a whiskey drinker would really enjoy, but with more finesse and depth. I’d love this Cognac on the rocks or in a Manhattan (a.k.a. Harvard cocktail) because it has such a wonderful texture and body. Rémy Martin really does have some nice mid-level priced Cognac’s on the market right now, and this is definitely one of them. This is a bottle I always like to have on hand. Highly recommended.
