Paul Giraud Grande Champagne XO Cognac
(100% Ugni Blanc) Assembled from barrels of a single harvest that are selected at around a quarter century in oak, this offers aromas of orange peel, stone fruits, ginger, caramel, golden raisin, barrel spice, and rancio. The palate has a delightful sense of texture to it with dried stone fruits, caramels, candied orange, ginger, with lingering notes of earth and rancio on its long finish. - D&M TASTING NOTES (03/2026)
CRITICAL ACCLAIM:
“This Cognac offers dried date and fig aromas coupled with cedar. Given a few minutes to open up, those dried-fruit notes deepen on nose and palate to baked pear washed with butterscotch, finishing long and notably silky with ginger, dusty vanilla and sweet cinnamon heat. Grand Champagne region.” - 94 PTS, WINE ENTHUSIAST (07/2019)
PRODUCER NOTES:
OVERVIEW: “This is the most emblematic cognac in our range because it beautifully expresses a characteristic of all our cognacs: roundness. It is appreciated by everyone thanks to its rich palette of stone fruits, ranging from apricot to Agen prune, and including peach, mirabelle plum, and prune. This quest for fruity aromas requires patience and attention. Indeed, you must take the time to savor this Vieille Réserve. Comfortably seated in a good armchair, you will give this cognac time to reveal each of its aromas.”
TASTING: “At room temperature, you'll first detect notes of fresh fruit such as apricot and peach; then more concentrated notes of plum and cooked or stewed fruit, even tarte Tatin. If you slowly warm the glass in your hand, you'll then experience the full aromatic evolution of this ‘basket of stone fruits,’ progressing from the fresh fruits of early summer to the riper, stewed fruits of late summer, with a subtle spicy finish. The length on the palate is exceptional, and the next morning the glass is still imbued with fruity aromas.”
ABOUT US: “From Pierre Giraud in 1635 to Paul Giraud today, eleven generations have succeeded one another at Bouteville. These almost four centuries have nurtured a strong attachment to our village and its life. Over those years, each generation worked the vines and produced cognacs sold to merchants in Jarnac and Cognac. In 1975, Paul and his son Paul-Jean decided to embark on the adventure of independent marketing. Their aim was to make it possible to taste, without blending, the old and rare cognacs with the subtle and characteristic Grande Champagne aromas that form the treasures of the family’s cellars. The estate now covers 50 hectares, all planted with ugni-blanc grapes. Assisted by a team that also spans several generations, Paul-Jean and Paul work to perpetuate their ancestral know-how.”