Bourgoin Cognac Microbarrique 1998
D&M NOTES:
TASTING: (100% Ugni Blanc) This shows a bright golden aspect in the glass; the nose opens with a hit of orchard fruits, flambéed banana, forest floor, nougat, cigar box, mandarines, and hard caramel candies. The palate has a softness to it with almost a sense of acidity and a flavor set that echoes the nose with a bit of bright citrus, nougat, baked apples, and forest floor.
PRODUCTION: The base wine, known as vin de chaudière, is naturally fermented with wild yeasts and distilled over an open fire in a 20-hectoliter still. Unlike most Cognac producers who remove the gross lees, Bourgoin keeps both the fine and gross lees in the wine during distillation. This technique enhances the complexity and depth of the cognac, gives it a unique flavor profile, and improves the texture. After 22 years in barrel, the distillate was transferred to quite small 10 liter barrels that have an alligator char on the inside. This “la chauffe crocodile” softens the distillate and lightens the color naturally. The proof is reduced with local spring water, and each bottle is hand-filled by gravity, with no additions.
ABOUT THE PRODUCER: The Bourgoin family arrived in the sleepy town of Tarsac in the Bons Bois in 1930 when Léon-Marcel Bourgoin was able to buy some plots of Ugni Blanc. His sons were able to purchase a still in the ensuing decades and the resulting distillate was largely sold in its entirety to the brokers for the large houses that most Americans associate with the Cognac region. This continued through the generations until, as the baton was passed from father Alain to son Frédéric Bourgoin, a sense of new paths presented itself. In 2015, Frédéric Bourgoin decided to launch the brand with the aim to stand in stark contrast to the traditional style and expression of Cognac. Frédéric was one of the first signers of the Gnôle Naturelle (Natural Booze) manifesto. This loose collective of predominantly European distillers working towards making their products natural and unadulterated and pushing their larger peers to do the same. Not only is the Bourgoin family’s approach to distillation different from their neighbors, so is how they raise and finish their cognac. The family has for decades been distilling their base wine with twice as much lees as is normally used for Cognac production, resulting in a distillate with much more aromatic intensity. They are also quite particular in the barrels used for aging, selecting wide grain barrels from the Limousin forest and carefully washing them three times before introducing distillate.