(bottled 12-01-2012)
Nose: Woody and sour. Although it’s bottled at the same strength as the Monitfaud, the Roullet is way more ‘in your face’. Rougher, more intense and very woody. Lot’s of wood-spices, and a strange sour note. Funilly enough it’s not very fruity at all. It takes quite some time to open up. After a while you get more spices and sweeter notes. Cola, maple syrup, chocolat, treacle and licorice root.
Taste: bittersweet, slightly acrid and very drying.
Finish: long and spicy, and again quite drying.
If you look past the woody notes, this actually is a pretty complex cognac. But I think it takes too much effort. I think this has spent too much time in the cask. It’s pretty rugged, and really needs time to open up. This one is definitely not for the faint hearted.