J. Painturaud Cognac Grande Champagne Reserve 700ml

J. Painturaud Cognac Grande Champagne Reserve is a grower Cognac from Painturaud Frères, a family estate in Segonzac, right in the middle of the Grande Champagne cru. The family has made Grande Champagne Cognac and Pineau des Charentes since 1934, and this Reserve is made from Ugni Blanc, aged in French oak and bottled at 40% ABV.

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Most Cognac on the shelf comes from big houses that buy wine or spirit from many growers. Painturaud works the other way: the family grows its own grapes, distils on the estate and ages the spirit in its own cellars in Segonzac, and four generations have now run the place. The Reserve sits in the middle of a range that runs from a VSOP up through Vieille Réserve, XO and Hors d’Age.

The Grande Champagne name matters here. It has nothing to do with sparkling wine: it is the first cru of the Cognac appellation, a zone of chalky soils around Segonzac, and a Cognac labelled Grande Champagne must come entirely from grapes grown inside it. Spirit from this cru tends to be fine and floral when young and gains a lot from long ageing in oak, which is why the estates here hold their stock for years.

That makes this bottle a good step up for anyone who has been drinking big-brand VSOP and wants to taste a single-estate, single-cru Cognac. It also suits a brandy drinker who likes to know exactly where a spirit was grown and made.

Serve it neat in a tulip glass at room temperature after dinner, and give it a few minutes to open. It can also be poured chilled as an aperitif. Try it with dark chocolate, walnuts, dried apricots or an aged hard cheese such as Comté. Kept sealed and upright, an opened bottle keeps well for many months.