Cognac Blog

A cold front went through and even though yesterday was 80 dF, today was only in the mid-60’s and even with the windows shut, I was cold.  I thought a small snifter of Marthe Sepia would be a good idea as I watched Monday night football.  I was right.  It’s been a while since this old friend and I got together.

As I nosed it for the obligatory 20 minutes while it “breathed” (see “How to Taste Cognac“) I couldn’t help but smile as the flavors opened up like a rose blossom slowly smiling toward the sun. This is a truly extraordinary cognac.

I know the cellar master who creates this work of art. Pascal Fillioux is a fourth generation master of the art of cognac at La Pouyade, and I suspected early on that he was very talented.  But I didn’t learn until long after I met him that he is esteemed by his peers as one of the five or so best cognac cellar masters in the world.  And that day that I met him, he was across the table from me, smiling faintly in nervous anticipation,  hoping that little old me would like his cognac. That’s like Walt Disney sitting next to you on the roller coaster hoping that you will like his theme park!

Marthe Sepia is magnificent. It starts with a rich amber-orange color and a powerful nose of vanilla, banana and oak, which gives way to a warm spicy palate, multi-layered with vanilla, chocolate, honey, grape jam, tropical fruits all shooting on and off my palate as quickly as you can read this and each repeating five or six times.  This leads to a superbly mature rancio in the back of the mouth with an impossibly long finish.  I mean really, three to six minutes later, this cognac is still finishing, changing and evolving on your palate.  It’s just not natural!  But it is wonderful!

This can be a very intimidating cognac for a novice connoisseur, and is really not the place to start learning about cognac.  On the other hand, if your palate is up to it, this cognac will take you on a magnificent ride.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 12:44 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.