At Wine Paris 2026 (mid February), François Voyer presented three new releases from their Grande Champagne 1er Cru terroir. Although there’s no sign of these new releases on the Voyer website or in shops, they should probably arrive soon.
We’re talking about a 12 year old, 20 year old and 25 year old as part of the series called From Barrel Selection. I’m afraid the name doesn’t make much sense – I guess they used Google Translate at some point. The oldest cognac one also celebrates the 25th anniversary of Pierre Vaudon’s work in the company.
Cognac François Voyer 12 yo – Grande Champagne (43,3%, OB ‘From Barrel Selection’ 2026, Swiss oak finish)
Nose: an interesting style of woodiness, virgin oak style. It reminds me of pine wood, but also mesquite and balsa. Fresh wood shavings aplenty, in any case, with bay leaves and touches of paraffin. Underneath some apricot notes, along with yellow plums and quinces. Perhaps a faint whiff of mango in the distance.
Mouth: I was rather forgiving on the nose, but here the wood takes over. There’s fresh plywood, some mesquite again, mint and resin. Even a hint of glue. I’m sure the cognac underneath is good, showing some pear and slightly synthetic vanilla, along with chestnut honey, but the grandeur of the grand cru is washed out.
Finish: medium, now decidedly herbal, with more fresh oak shavings and a chalky touch.
This matured in a barrel specially made by the renowned cooper Jean-Noël Pelletant for the final two years. I’m sure this could have been part of an experimental series with different oak types, but here we have to face the fact that the wood is too loud and interfering with the original flavour profile.
Cognac François Voyer 20 yo ‘Lot 05’ – Grande Champagne (52%, OB ‘From Barrel Selection’ 2026)
Nose: this typical mix of chalk and wax, which is nice. Even a slight diesel-like aroma. Then hints of peach, a little wisteria and dandelions. Freshly cut pear, a little marmalade and peach. Later also subtle nutty notes. Still a bit uncommon.
Mouth: this funky industrial touch again, oily and almost rummy. It has walnuts, some grainy elements, sour berries and a modest waxiness. Mid-palate it turns towards dried herbs with a hint of menthol and white pepper, always with floral overtones. Decidedly sharper, with a metallic edge. Less fruity and certainly more funky than Voyer’s classic ranges.
Finish: quite long, adding an almost medicinal edge, along with the floral notes. The bitterness of yuzu as well.
Almost a mix of cognac and rum at some point. Fresh in a way, but also austere, with a slightly boozy touch. There’s a certain roughness to it, which is both interesting and disappointing at the same time. Score: 84/100
Cognac François Voyer 25 yo ‘Lot 00’ – Grande Champagne (54,3%, OB ‘From Barrel Selection’ 2026)
Nose: another level really. Full of stewed fruits, including apricots and mirabelles, with brighter citrus, light floral notes and orange peels. Then also subtle pastry notes. Almonds and hazelnuts underneath. Increasing notes of sharper peppermint over time, adding some vibrance.
Mouth: the mintiness now mixes with pepper and liquorice. Once the initial heat has passed, tropical fruits come out: melons, pineapples and tangerines. More floral notes take over again, along with some bergamot tea and the first signs of rancio.
Finish: medium, on fruit tea, banana peels, pink grapefruit and some peppery wood.
Here we find the first signs of these lovely fruity notes. Is 25 Years the door to a certain profile we’re looking for? Even then it’s still quite sharp to score it higher. You can tell this shares some roots with the XO, but I keep asking myself whether I prefer the low strength version or this one. Score: 87/100
An uneasy conclusion
I found these three really hard to pinpoint and let’s be totally honest, I also felt disappointed. Each of these cognacs offers a new perspective on the world of Voyer, in a way we couldn’t have imagined. That makes them difficult to understand.
I do realize there is a discrepancy in the current high-end cognac market. In the past few years a new audience has been being venturing into cognac in search of a specific profile, full of tropical fruits (similar to 1960s whiskies). This profile is only found in very old stocks, from a limited number of artisan producers. In a way it is a total outlier in the wider cognac market and I’m not sure how much volume of these old gems is still available.
This also means that the majority of cognac is far less convincing to this audience. The ‘From Barrel Selection’ releases are more typical cognacs, composed with cognac lovers in mind, I would say, rather than the recent wave of (ex-)whisky lovers, if that makes sense. The strength is fine (another thing cognac producers had to adapt for this new audience) but the elegance and fruitiness are not quite there yet. Maybe cognac simply starts to become interesting at a higher age than whisky? I’m open to discuss.
The choice of precise age indications feels a little contradictory as well. It makes me think of a core range with a consistent profile, much like in the whisky industry. However, given the “straight from barrel” argument it would have been more judicious to emphasize the unique character of each cask and present them as small batches with batch numbers rather than age indications. This would make it easier to understand that the next 20 years could be completely different and it would more readily justify the release of experimental casks, such as the Swiss oak.
So there. We love the initiatives and we realize cognac houses can’t make a sustainable business from releasing only casks that are 50 years or more. However these experimental results may not convince everyone.
Mind that I had no idea of the price at the time of writing. It turns out they’ll sell for € 60, € 100 and € 150 respectively. That’s fair enough.