Claude Chatelier is a fairly young cognac brand. It was founded by Alexander Gabriel in 1989. Today it is owned by Maison Ferrand, famous for both its own cognac, Plantation rum and Citadelle gin. Claude Chatelier is made from grapes grown in the Petit Champagne region. The fermented wine is distilled with a charentes still capacity of 2500 liters. Claude Chatelier VS is a blend of several different ages distillates that have been matured for at least 2 years. Claude Chatelier is one of the cheapest cognacs, at least in Estonian stores, a 50 cl bottle cost 13.50 €.

The smell is sweet, has a bunch of caramel and floral aromas. The taste is very smooth and sweet. Toffee, honey, floral nuances and oak. The alcohol burn is quite sharp, as in VS cognacs in general. For sure this is clearly a young brandy. The aftertaste is short, sweet but also slightly bitter. The fruitiness often found in VS cognacs is not found in Claude Chatelier, caramel and oak aromas are more on display. I always wonder how much of the sweetness comes from the added sugar and boisé? However, it is fairly good VS cognac. Drinking neat is perhaps a bit boring and one-sided, but a great choice for cocktails, especially due to its low price.

78/100