Frapin VSOP Grande Champagne Cognac / NV / 1L

Description:

The Frapin VSOP Grande Champagne Cognac is a polished, mid-weight cognac drawn entirely from Grande Champagne, the premier cru at the top of the Cognac hierarchy. Made from Frapin's own estate fruit, distilled on lees and aged around ten years in French Limousin oak, it sits between the brightness of a young cognac and the depth of an older one.

Vine flowers and dried apricot lead the nose, with candied orange peel, toasted almond and a lift of vanilla behind. The palate follows with white peach, quince paste and a light dusting of cinnamon, all carried on a soft, faintly floral core rather than heavy caramel sweetness.

Texture is the appeal here: rounded and warming without heat, with fine oak tannin giving shape through the middle and a clean, chalky lick of Grande Champagne minerality on the close. The finish is long and gently spiced, drying out to nougat and dried citrus peel.

Pour it after dinner alongside dark chocolate, salted caramel or a wedge of aged comté. It also handles a good cigar, and its floral side makes it an unusually elegant base for a sidecar if you would rather mix than sip.

The one litre format makes this a sensible bottle for the drinks cabinet at home, and once opened it will hold its form for a year or more if kept upright, sealed and out of the light.