Barrel sample, cognac style

Domique Touteau, cellar master at Delamain, draws a sample from a 1967 barrel of Cognac. Instead of a pipette, more common in the wine world, he uses a “prouvette.” The prouvette is a glass vial tied to a string that he drops in the barrel. If you listen you can hear the bubbles as it fills up. Unfortunately the only light we had in the cellar was one light bulb. Even thought the video is dark, you can still see the golden color in the glass. And the chalk markings on the outside of the barrel indicate its origin, harvest date and the alcohol strength. No barcodes here…

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6 Responses to “Barrel sample, cognac style”


  1. Hi Tyler
    I think you mean (une) éprouvette. The image was so dark that I could’n check, but go to Google Image, I think this is it.
    Cheers
    Bertrand


  2. wow… 1967? is that normal age, or is that pretty healthy?? SWEET!!!


  3. Bertrand,

    Merci. I corrected it in the text.

    -Tyler


  4. Tim,

    It’s definitely on the old side. I’ll post more soon on the aging of cognac, vintages etc soon. But generally speaking, the older the better! I had one from 1874–amazing stuff!!!!

    Tyler


  5. Bonjour,
    Sorry but it was “une prouvette”, same roots than proof, it was used to give the proof of the alcohol content.
    Remember also older vintage doesn’t meaning older cognac, a 1874 bottled in 1900, is still today a 26 year old cognac ! Because there is no further aging in the bottle…
    Best regards,
    Charles Braastad-Delamain
    c.braastad @delamain-cognac.com


  6. Charles,
    Thanks for this correction. I’m changing it back in the text! And thanks too for the comment about aging.
    Best,
    Tyler


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