Distillerie des Moisans 1991 Bons Bois Cognac

D&M NOTES:

TASTING: This possesses an exotic nose that evokes coconut, plummy fruit, toffee, and spice. The texture on the palate is round with prune, dried apricot, and plenty of spice The palate benefits from its lively 43% ABV, which also helps push the flavors through its long finish.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Olivier Petit is the General Director of the Distillerie des Moisans, a large distillery in the Fins Bois that converts wines into eaux de vie that will later become cognac for many neighboring producers. The distillery was raised to its present success by Roland Bru who bought it in 1955. His initial fortune was in logging, but he made the smooth transition to expanding his new venture, working through the decades to expand the breadth of his business until he passed away in 1997. Unique for the industry, the distillery was eventually taken over by his two daughters. One of them, Véronique Bru-Legaret, eventually assumed control with the aid of her son Roland. Over three generations the family has acquired 60 hectares of vines themselves, both from the Fins Bois and in the Petite Champagne. In addition to their own vineyards the distillery buys wines from over 100 growers. The distillery itself is quite impressive. Its high ceiling is made out of wood from cashew trees, and the distillery contains twelve 25-hectoliter stills. These stills are well used, and produce around 600,000 liters of distillate per year. The vast majority of the distillery’s production is Ugni Blanc, and they supply most of their output to the Big-Four houses. Within their ten aging cellars are hundreds of barrels ranging from 350 to 40,000 liters in size.