Received this in the mail today and popped it.
Again, somewhat preliminary tasting notes, but I’m quickly getting the hang of it.
Tesseron Lot 53 - Perfection
Coppery golden brown color.
Rich nose of vanilla bean, Hershey’s Cocoa, spice, mahogany and dried fruit (prune?)
Complex, firm, spicy, honey, dark chocolate, orange peel entry led to a very long, dry nutty, floral finish.
I’m getting that this unique combination of nuttiness and dryness is what rancio is all about.
The Delamain Pale & Dry which I also like does not have this aspect in it’s aftertaste.
Perfectly balanced with no alcoholic burn on the back of the tongue or throat.
A wonderful Cognac which goes down mighty easy!
Now the comparison to the lot 29.
IMO, the Lot 29 is preferable over the Lot 53. By a fair bit, unfortunately, for me. ($$$)
Why?
The Lot 53 taste intensity is even handed from start to finish. There is less fireworks in the mouth.
The Lot 29 starts out with a similar intensity, but absolutely goes thermonuclear in it’s finish. (the old iron fist in a velvet glove descriptor)
The Lot 29 has this lush, scrumptious fruit and finish that is addictive.
The lot 53 is more firm, a tad less sweet and not as luscious. (some may prefer that profile).
The Lot 29 is darker, more complex with more layers of flavor.
That said, at twice the price, the Lot 29 is NOT twice as good.
But dammit, I think it’s so unique, that in my case, it’s worth the premium!
And believe me, the Lot 53 is no slouch. It’s a beauty!
There’s just more “Shock and Awe” to the Lot 29.
I will need to compare these pups mano e mano for a final evaluation.
Should be fun!
Damn!
After sipping on the Lot 29 and Lot 53 for the past four days, I had some of my old standby Delamain Pale & Dry.
As The Cream once sang, What A Bringdown…
In the US, Tesseron 53 starts around $280; Dudognon Heritage around $200, Navarre around $200. There’s lots of good Cognac for less but these 40-50 year blends are at another level.
Tried the bottle from UK, its good but not great. The biggest surprise was the initial hotness, very surprising, now it did resolve into good flavours but it gave the experience an edge of heat and sharpness i just did not expect or really want. Overall its still very enjoyable just not at the leveli was hoping for