Delamain Cognac 1959

Cognac très vieille Grande Champagne Réserve de la Famille Cognac issued from a single cask, it has reached its full maturity. The distinctive color of a very old Cognac: both bright and amber. Perfumes are powerful and persistent, with gentle radiance and lightness.To the mouth, it is smooth and round, and has the richness of a fruit at its best maturity. The aromas are complex, yet subtle and delicately persistent. Delamain Vintage Cognac from Grande Champagne Delamain is one of the few Cognac négociants to have received authorization to sell some of their Cognacs as Vintages. In 1962, the Cognac Trade Association decided that it would no longer allow a single Vintage year to appear on the label of a bottle of Cognac aged in France as the French legislation did not provide sufficient control over the age covered by the "Vintage". A sealed cellar since thirty eight years? In 1963 Delamain decided to use one of their old cellars to store some of their best Cognacs and thus became specialists in the ageing of single Vintages Cognacs. Every year after distillation, they place carefully selected young Grande Champagne Cognacs in well seasoned oak barrels in the cellar. It is always locked and rather than keeping the keys, they hand them to the authority representative. Each time they need to enter the cellar (depositing new Cognacs, stocktaking, bottling?) they are supervised by the controlling authority and a signed document recording their entry into the cellar is produced. In 1989, a new ruling concerning Vintage Cognacs was introduced and Vintages were accepted as long as the exact age of the Cognac could be proved. Delamain special cellar with its original stock (the age of which has been confirmed by carbon 14 testing) allowed them to sell Vintage Cognacs again.Thus, the year shown on the label of Delamain Vintage Cognac is the year when the grapes were been harvested and, by law distillation must take place before the end of March of the following year of harvest. 1968 Vintage, thirty three years in an oak cask? The selection of the young Cognac is fundamental, this Grande Champagne Cognac from the 1968 Vintage was purchased by Delamain from a grower distiller located near La Nérolle, commune de Segonzac. It has been aged in well-seasoned casks (made from French oak, max. capacity 350 liters) in the special cellar on the banks of the Charente river with its ideal hygrometry degree to age Cognacs.The 1968 Vintage was bottled in 1998. It is a rare Cognac destined for the true connoisseur who is looking for great purity and the unique character of an old and magnificent Grande Champagne Cognac.