Bourgoin Cognac XO Eau de Mer

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 43% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Seawater is part of the production of Bourgoin Eau-de-Mer: a small proportion of drinkable seawater is used during reduction, the process of bringing the Cognac to its bottling strength of 43%. This distinguishes it from bottlings whose maritime character is purely a tasting impression.

This bottling is made from Ugni Blanc from the 2012 vintage. Vinification, distillation and maturation all take place on the estate. The Cognac is neither filtered nor coloured. Its caramel notes meet salty and fruity impressions, counterbalanced by an increasingly dry structure on the palate.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose combines soft caramel with salty, maritime notes.
• Palate: Fruity impressions meet distinct salinity on the palate. The structure then becomes dry.
• Finish: Salty notes and restrained sweetness linger through the long finish.

Distillery/Bottler:

The Bourgoin family estate is located in Saint-Saturnin in the Charente and dates back to 1933. Frédéric Bourgoin combines growing his own grapes with processing them all the way through to the finished Cognac. Vintages, vineyard plots and casks are kept separate rather than blended together to create a uniform house style.

For its base wines, Bourgoin relies on the grapes’ natural yeasts and uses no added sulphites. Distillation takes place twice in a copper Charentais pot still. The Cognacs are bottled by hand on the estate, and the family uses gravity when transferring them. Eau-de-Mer was developed in collaboration with Marée Haute, adding the deliberate use of seawater to this approach.

Facts: