whiskyfun.com by Serge Valentin, april 2017
The fact that this baby came to me in three different occasions may say a lot about the quality. It’s most probably a 1990, so around 25/26 years of age. Colour: full gold. Nose: less easy/sexy than the Hors d’Âge, and rather spicier, with touches of gingerbread and cinnamon cake upfront. The liquorice, and many cakes. Orange cake, for example. After just two minutes, it becomes very citrusy, in a splendid manner. Citron liqueur and myrtle, which indeed, sounds very Corsican. Mouth: brilliant, and once again, totally and plainly malternative. It’s a blend of old Benriach and Rosebank, in fact. Ah, that’s their secret! Plums and oranges tangoing to perfection, plus tangerines and notes of lemongrass, with a little spearmint behind all that. Superb. Finish: long (yeah), very citrusy, with some chestnut honey and a little pipe tobacco. One lavender sweet in the aftertaste. Comments: very hard to beat. One day we’ll organise a 6 Nation Tournament, with spirits instead of rugby teams. SGP:651 - 91 points.

weinkenner.de by Udo Kaypinger, June 2016
Lot 90 ~26yo Cognac blend mit Grande Cham­pa­gne – 51%
87 points
Farbe: Gold
Nase: Im Ver­gleich zum Hors d’Age ist die Nase viel mäch­ti­ger, aber weni­ger struk­tu­riert und nicht so kom­plex. Schöne Noten von sah­ni­gem Oran­gen­jo­ghurt, ver­se­hen mit einer mil­den Würze, alter Pappe und frisch polier­tem Holz­bo­den. Die inein­an­der über grei­fen­den Aro­men sind mit einem wei­chen Kara­mell­ton unter­legt.
Geschmack: „Grün“, Holz, Euka­lyp­tus, Minze, Algen und viel „Fisherman’s Fri­end“- Fri­sche. Dann wie­der Holz, wel­ches die Ober­hand über­nimmt und wei­tere Geschmacksa­ro­men deckelt.
Finish: Lang, herb und grün – mit zart bit­te­rem Holz, grü­nen Nuss­scha­len, Lakritze, sal­zi­gem Gebäck und durch­zie­hen­den tro­cke­nen Kräu­ter­no­ten.
87 Punkte (Nase: 89 / Geschmack: 86 / Finish: 85

Whiskynotes by Ruben Luyten, May 2016
Nose: starts almost entirely on wood. The alcohol mostly highlights ginger and nutmeg, with lots of pencil shavings. This needs time. After 15 minutes, it opens towards leather, leafy notes and eucalyptus. Water helps (a lot) but it doesn’t have the tropical fruitiness of older examples. Mouth: leathery notes, lots of mint and eucalyptus, with the fruity notes already present without water. However at full strength the camphory notes and spices (pepper, ginger, nutmeg) overtake the fruits. No bitterness but a certain raw edge nonetheless. Water brings them out: apricots and sweet oranges. Aniseed. Lots of tobacco as well. Underneath there’s always a hint of herbal liqueurs, Fernet-Branca and the likes. Finish: long, same flavours and spiciness. After the balance and rounded fruitiness of the expressions above, this is a powerhouse, with hard-hitting spices. Of course the purpose of a brut de fût (a rare concept in cognac) is to give you this experience and allow you to play around with water. A very complex, interesting cognac, but certainly not an easy charmer. A brave choice, I think it would have been easier to convince maltheads with other cognacs from this house.