Tesseron used to provide cognacs to larger house, but in 2003 they started bottling their own cognac. Today I’m having four expressions that were once bottled as a small tasting set.
Tesseron Lot 53 was the first cognac named with a Lot, supposedly taking inspiration from Chanel No. 5. It was the famed sommelier Olivier Poussier who convinced the Tesseron family to create a whole range with numbers.
While nowadays there is this unwritten convention to use lot numbers for non-certified single vintage releases, back then it was more like an average vintage indication. From a connoisseur’s perspective this is a little more problematic of course. Lot 29 was said to be around 70 years old, for instance, and Lot 90 was aged for at least 10 years…
Cognac Tesseron Lot 90 ‘XO Ovation’ (40%, OB +/- 2022)
Nose: fresh, albeit with the typical youthful metallic and slightly herbal note. Also fresh apples and peaches, with raisins and a hint of blackberry. Stewed pears and orange peels. A little liquorice and a subtle hint of musty oak.
Mouth: quite fresh again. There’s more orange, with apricot and quince. More honeyed notes now, along with stem ginger on syrup and pineapple candy. Herbal tea and liquorice roots. Sweet oak towards the end, some cedar.
Finish: medium, with more candy sweetness, cocoa and oak spice.
Quite good. Still a bit in the commercial area, in my opinion, with a bit more sweetness than I’d like. Still available from The Whisky Exchange among others.
Cognac Tesseron Lot 76 ‘XO Tradition’ (40%, OB +/- 2022)
Nose: more aromatic and floral, with dried wildflowers, honey and sultanas. After a few minutes it becomes fruitier (peaches, oranges, mirabelles), with a slightly tropical touch (pineapple). Brown sugar comes out over time.
Mouth: fresh start, less sweet than the Lot 90. More apricots and light honey, subtle hints of white grapes and pear. Light minty notes and polished oak. Light spicy notes. There’s a mild hint of wet cardboard hidden underneath but nothing too bad.
Finish: not long, suffering a bit now. Leather, figs and drying oak.
Just when we thought this would move to a higher scoring band, it took a turn and went down. Overall very rounded, but also a bit oaky in the end. Available from The Whisky Exchange. Score: 84/100
Cognac Tesseron Lot 53 ‘XO Perfection’ (40%, OB +/- 2022)
Nose: clearly a darker register. Figs and raisins, dried apricots, a hint of tobacco leaves and toasted nuts. Kind of a sherried profile. Still showing a brighter note in the background (honeysuckle, sweetened pink grapefruit, orange peels). Great balance. Very nice floral touches too, maybe a little potpourri. Good rancio in the distance, like an old cellar.
Mouth: light and floral, with great vibrance. Mirabelles and fresh apricots, quinces, more potpourri and drops of Gewürztraminer. More grapes and floral honey. Mid-palate it turns towards leather and a gentle woody note.
Finish: a little shorter than I hoped, but totally fresh. Mirabelles, subtle resinous oak and a minty touch.
A very good composition. Lightweight but offering a lot of complexity. At a higher ABV this would have surpassed the 90 mark with ease. We’re getting into a higher price range as well, so it’s not a full-on recommendation. Available from The Whisky Exchange among others. Score: 89/100
Cognac Tesseron Lot 29 ‘XO Exception’ (40%, OB +/- 2022)
Nose: ah yes, a great combination of floral notes, juicy fruits (peaches, apricots, ripe apples) with darker honey and a hint of almond paste. Then also mild rancio notes, polished furniture and a bit of eucalyptus and resin. Leather too. The fruity core keeps growing.
Mouth: not as exuberant and bright now, it gets overtaken by lots of minty notes, a little pepper, even a hint of mocha. Then blue grapes, stewed yellow plums and orange. The fruitiness is more on the syrupy side now. More on liquorice towards the end, along with nougat, subtle tannins and chocolates with marmalade filling.
Finish: quite long, more marmalade, oak spice and sweetened herbal tea.
This was rated 100/100 by Robert Parker. It is in fact very good but it’s still capped by the low ABV and a heavy sweetness. Available from The Whisky Exchange for instance. Score: 90/100