And look what came in the mail? I swear to you,  Cognac arriving at your doorstep is probably one of the greatest things about the 21st Century - and who from? It’s Hermitage! - who coincidentally have also just released their 100 Year Old Siecle d’Or expression in an otherwise bonkers decanter - imagine that, 100 years old!

Perhaps one of the most stunning and unique things as I’ve often mentioned about Cognacs is that it is the only spirit that you’d find this sort of super age. And that is what makes it so special, it’s not the vintages you can find and their symbolism to a particular year of personal history or world history, but it’s also about how uniquely the spirit ages in the maritime climate of Cognac, France. 

Freddie and David, pictured in the top left at the Cognac Show, but otherwise, on the hunt for treasures in some historic cellars.

And that’s also what Hermitage specialises in - finding Cognacs of incredible vintages and spectacular age statements that comes from being incredibly well-ingratiated with the often multi-generational producers across the region, and being able to tap on the Cognacs produced ages ago and passed from generation to generation. If you think that’s easy, just try asking your neighbour for the chocolate in their fridge.

Led by David Baker, who established Hermitage three decades ago, Hermitage has demonstrated an ability to show these multi-generational producers that they can trust Hermitage to present their Cognacs in the best possible light, enabling them to see what is quite literally their family heirloom come to surface and become realised. And so much of what Hermitage offers are really quite one of a kind, no exaggerating or hyperbole, and you’ll likely never find them again because of the process that Hermitage engages in. None of those year after year megablends here!

Hermitage has forged a name for itself unearthing rarities such as the 70 Year Old Marie Louise Decanter, which excitingly we'll be trying shortly!

In particular, Hermitage works very closely with producers in the most highly prized Grande Champagne region of Cognac, which is known for producing Cognacs with staggering ageing potential.

Now it wasn’t just a couple of months ago that I had met up with Freddie, who heads up Hermitage’s Sales, at the major ProWine event held in Singapore. There I got to try first hand the new Trilogy Series which I thought was a pretty solid angle to present Cognacs in, basing them on core flavours such as Cacao, Cigar and Cafe, all of which also pays tribute to cafe culture.

And so when Freddie asked if I’d like to try Hermitage’s Age Statement series, of course I had to say yes.

So here goes!

Hermitage 10 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac - Review

First up, we've got the 10 Year Old from Grande Champagne, this one's bottled at 40% ABV.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Deep, woody aromas, it's giving sandalwood smoke, frankincense, followed by rich brown syrup. As it sits for a bit more, wafts of rich scents of vanilla, raisins, maraschino cherry fragrances as well. Continues to develop into leather couches, wax, and interestingly, a hint of apple cuts through the dense fragrances. 

Taste: Starts out subtle, it's got a waxy chewiness of beeswax. Mellow and deeper notes of wood comes through, bringing with it some light tannins of brewed red tea, some nutmeg, cloves, building into cacao powder. It's bacled up by more sweetness in the form of dates, alittle herbal even of manuka honey and cola syrup. The sweetness is gentle, ebbing back and forth, harmonised very well with the spices, in particular the nutmeg.

Finish: The spice lingers - lightly toasted pink peppercorns, reshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon powder. The sweetness eventually lifts off, opening up to more Medjool dates, raw honey, bits of red Fuji apples. The waxiness is very mouthcoating, with an oiliness of Jamon Iberico. Recedes finally into some dryness of brewed Oolong tea.

My Thoughts

This is really quite a stunner - there's so much to unpack here. It's quite a marvel that it's just 10 years old, with so many twists and turns, and each corner a new flavour or its variant emerges. Every step contains multiple layers of complexity, and what is particular standout is how each flavour and aroma interacts with an adjoining flavour to create something new. The waxiness for me was also particularly enjoyable, reminding me of charcuterie boards. 

Hermitage 20 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac - Review

We get on to the 20 Year Old, this comes in a very nice decanter. This one's bottled at 42% ABV.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Light veil of lacquer, which quickly opens up to golden raisins, caramelised lemons, stewed pears and a slight hint of rhubarb tart. There's even a few nuggets of cookie dough, the brown sugar sort. The nose here leans brighter - vanilla pods cooked in custard, as well as some rosewood snaking in.

Taste: Juicy! And yet there's this pleasant tartness and acidity that's invigorating. Bright flavours here - lemon zest, grapefruit juice, freshly sliced red apples, and hits of dessicated pineapple. There is a gentler side to this - some florals of orange blossoms and sips of jasmine green tea.

Finish: Some of that tartness lingers, coming in the form of sweet limes. The very moreish chewiness and waxiness persists as well - dried prune, plums and more black raisins.

My Thoughts

Fresh, bright, while still layered with many genres of fruitiness. There's the classic dried fruit flavours and aromas here, but we only get brighter from there, with this really refreshing acidity - appetising, easy to approach, while still having much runway for more complex flavours and aromas to develop. This one's for the folks who prefer a leaner and more well-defined, chiselled profile that is more forward with its brightness and acidity, beyond its base of the classically rich and confectionary, moreish body.

Hermitage 30 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac - Review

We move up another rung - or should we say decade - to the 30 year old, all Grande Champagne of course, bottled at 43% ABV.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: We get off to a roaring start with heaps of dried longans, canned lychees, canned peaches, accompanied by a stronger aroma of rosewood and wood lacquer. Some baking spices here as well, notably, star anise, cloves, and a slight prickling of freshly cracked black pepper. Best give this some space to air and see what gives - that's the move right there, revealing more preserved fruit aromas as well, canned fruit cocktail syrup, the musty fruitiness of dried mango. With more time, it levels out to brown sugar syrup.

Taste: Sweetness ensues with a chalky, minerality for a backbone. Lots of dark pitted fruits, overripe dark cherries, slightly bruised plums, super ripened peaches. More on chocolate, and also a little bit of that waxiness of saucisson. This develops into a fresher, brighter note of sweet lemons, just ripe pears, and tart red apples, all while carrying a golden raisin quality of dried fruits. 

Finish: The rich sweetness persists, combining to prove itself an overlay of brown sugar syrup over preserved fruits of dried mangoes and cranberries. This develops again into that savoury-sweet, the sort of dried preserves coated in sugar. It tails off with more of those canned lychees.

My Thoughts

This had a phenomenal balance between sweetness and acidity! I was very satisfied by the upfront juicy sweetness of dark fruits from the get go, which with a bit of time, does develop into fresher, more tart flavours. On the aroma, you really get more preserved fruit aromas - dense, syrupy, that is backed by heaps of fruitiness. I thoroughly enjoyed this one - that it cusps both sweet and refreshingly tart really hit the spot for me, and I should add isn't something I find all that often. That balance is incredibly impressive! 

What also caught my attention was that interesting development of savoury-sweet on the palate, that when coupled with some spice, reminds me of preserved sundries, the sort that's dried and given a coat of sugar - incredibly nostalgic for anyone who's been to a wet market in Asia.

Hermitage 50 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac - Review

We've hit the big 50! That's half a century right here - definitely something to think about before we get all up in this. This is based on the 45 Year Old that Hermitage also carries, which was then aged another 5 years to hit that half a century milestone. This one's 44% ABV.

Very excited to try it, let's go!

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Some wood lacquer off the bat, which is to be expected given the age. There's a brightness of a dash of lemon juice, which gives way to apricots, loquats, and persimmon. Wow! It's giving marmalade which sweeps over the initial brightness. It's an orange that's been cooked down to a reduction. More air time reveals a floral aroma of chrysanthemum and fresh honeysuckle, together with an inkling of sandalwood perfume.  

Taste: The rancio nuttiness opens the floor, with candied walnuts and pecan pie, heavy on that caramel filling. The spice and woody flavours begin to show itself, giving nutmeg, candlenut, Ceylon cinnamon, all coupled together with a big serving of Demerara sugar. There is a slightly meaty savouriness, charcuterie or perhaps Chinese sausages. The rancio returns with a light funkiness of  dried mushrooms and more saucisson. It takes a turn now, with a zing of tartness and fresh sweetness that reminiscent of muscat grape juice. The flavours coalesce to a fresh, dark plum flavour afterward. 

Finish: The texture here feels more drying - the sort that comes from the salinity of prosciutto. The plum flavour carries on for a little while, but eventually, develops into a cooked dark fruit jam flavour, like the dark cherry filling in chocolates. There is a lingering nutmeg spice that dances on the palate here, long after the finish. 

My Thoughts

The staggering spectrum of rich and confectionary flavours on this one is just a whole other level - it goes from the fresh sweetness of fruits, to richer cooked sweetness from desserts and pies, and even some savoury accents with sweet meats. The richness here has such a pronounced depth that takes you to the edge, until it introduces a twist of muscat grape juice that adds this lightning bolt of brighter acidity. It almost feels like I'm at the opera. There's really quite some bountiful complexity in this one, where the flavours have chapters to them almost. Am I addicted to this one? Very likely so.

Hermitage 70 Year Old Marie Louise Grande Champagne Cognac - Review

And finally, we've made it to the top of Mount Hermitage (well, that was until they just released the 100 year old Siecle d'Or) - the Marie Louise 70 Year Old.

The Marie Louise, so named after the second wife of the Napoleon Bonaparte, whose son would go on to become Napoleon II, is an obviously very gorgeous decanter that contains in it 70 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac. The decanter itself is made by Cumbria Crystal, the last producer of completely hand-blown and hand-cut English crystals in the UK. Stunning! This one is bottled at 43% ABV, with only 50 bottles of these produced. 

Tasting Notes 

Aroma: This is giving musty leather and woodbound libraries, with lots of lacquered furnishings (mahogany, of course), leatherbound books, even some incense. The depth of this is giving this intense and all surrounding quality of antiquity - it's evoking thoughts of Indiana Jones. With some time, it opens up to golden syrup, molasses, golden currants, yellow raisins, combined with wafts of jasmine fragrance and mint - Orient Express, anybody?

Taste: Incredible richness and density, heavy on the golden raisins, golden currants, wildflower honey, and toffee apples. There's more on pie crusts of sweet confectionaries, topped with vanilla frosting. It then segues into a more minty profile. Wood's lozenges, peppermint sweets, coupled with the cooling sensation of a rich medicinal bittersweetness. It's then drawn back with some bright acidity of underripe peaches and Ume plums.

Finish: Here it's giving bittersweet, with ginseng roots and preserved lime. The medicinal note lingers, coupled with more spices, in particular of mace (the spicier half of nutmeg). Great intensity here, again with a very deep earthy, rooty medicinal quality.

My Thoughts 

A very multi-dimensional Cognac that's heavy on the richness but also packs a very earthy complexity. It feels like at any point, it's giving different flavours, aromas and finishes all at once. Beyond the rest of the range, this one stands out with this herbal herbaceousness of mint and menthol that gives it a really deep yet refreshing quality. This was by far the most complex of the lot tried today, displaying an incredibly distinct profile that really reminds me of ginseng.

It's quite an experience!

Altogether Now 

Worth noting is that I actually tasted the entire set blind by having a pour into five separate (obviously) glasses which were labelled A through E at random and then mixed up! I thought this would prove to be more fun considering we had a rare age vertical flight right here - how often do you get to do that, huh!

My conclusion nevertheless was that the 30 Year Old was my favourite! I felt that it brings the most balance, and checks the most boxes for me for what's pleasurable in a Cognac - bright tartness of the grapes, layered fruity satisfying sweetness, followed by some subtle spice notes that keeps you on the hunt and wanting more.

My second favourite was the 50 Year Old, which I felt offers a whole myriad of sweet flavours in one sitting that any dessert could possibly offer, the nuance was just spectacular and so incredibly detailed - and I particularly liked that sweet savouriness of charcuterie flavours that its rancio was giving.

All in all, very pleasurable Cognacs from Hermitage - there's something for everyone. Pick your adventure!