Germain-Robin Shareholders’ Reserve Alambic Brandy
40% ABV
$65-$75
Website
What the Distillery Says:
Hubert Germain-Robin was the first distiller to use wines from world-class varietal grapes. He created one of the world’s greatest spirits. When the family cognac firm Jules Robin (1782) was bought by giant Martell, Hubert looked for a way to go back to the hand methods that had made cognac great. Following a chance 1981 meeting, Hubert took an antique still from an abandoned distillery near Cognac and brought it to Ansley Coale’s Mendocino County ranch, where the two men built a modest distillery.
Hubert’s first brandies outscored famous cognacs in blind tastings. By the late 1990s, when Hubert’s cellar had matured, his brandies began to be reviewed as among the world’s finest spirits: elegant, complex,
and rich.
227 cases of a blend created for our founding investors, the first to reveal the true depth and richness of brandy hand-distilled from premium Mendocino wine grapes.
What Richard Says:
Nose: Rich and sweet with back notes of botanicals and paint (yeah…I know).
Palate: A rich riesling mixed with candied apricots.
Finish: Dry, short, and mildly woody.
Comments: I actually don’t find as much depth in this as the standard alambic brandy. It’s very tasty but I’m can’t say for you to pay the extra $20+ for a bottle of the Shareholders’ Reserve over the standard expression.
Rating: Stands Out