Calvados Comte Louis de Lauriston VSOP

This is a very good, rich Brandy from Calvados, France, aged in oak casks for over 5 years. It has an aromatic start with notes of red apple, oak tannins, tobacco, rancio, polished cherry wood & chervil. The rich body adds notes of toffee apple, pear tart, vanilla, fig & cherry, leading to a balanced, medium-length finish with notes of cinnamon, vanilla, hay & herbs. (November / December 2020)

This is the initial sample for the night. A third of the bottle remains. The aroma tickles. It smells like raw alcohol. It burns the mouth and the very tip of the tongue intensely. Extremely tart, sour, unripe wild pears. A faint sweet pre-taste. A light hint of radish and sour wood. It's rough and lacks balance. However, it is potent.