Cognac Sponge Grosperrin 1968

Pedigree. So much weight placed on a assumption of greatness based on data points. Most pan out really well. Some not so much. Let’s take this week’s outlier: Boris Johnson. Such high pedigree—-an Eton grad that took the helm of Brexit. All data points, minus his hair, would point towards a greatness. But alas, he fizzled out. And by last week, his cabinet was as empty as a flash sale on a shelf full of Springbank. And that lead us to this. I have a bone the size of T-Rex’s femur to pick with these guys. This is a 52 yr old Fin Bois cognac from a 1968 vintage. That in itself would out this in a rarified category. And it’s from Grosperrin , who is noted in finding hidden gems. And bottled by Serge Valentin’s ( of whiskey review fame) sidekick — Angus aka the Whisky Sponge. The price on this reflects its pedigree…well over $400-500. But I only bought a small sample from TWE. Nose is incredible. I had it in my glencairn over 20 minutes before taking the first sip, and the air permeated with notes of cedar wood and jasmine. Should’ve been labeled Eau D’ Jasmine. Palette is where I left sorely disappointed. It was such a let down —a bit astringent, oak-y, and too grape-y. I’m glad I didn’t buy a bottle. The pedigree is there, but it falls flat. Of course…TWE could’ve just pour the worst ones into their smaller sample size…who knows.