De Pradiere cognacs are a special series made by L´Heraud cognac house. Almost no information about it can be found, not even on L’Heraud’s own website. De Pradière is made exclusively from Ugni Blanc grapes grown in the Petite Champagne region. De Pradiere has VS, VSOP and XO age groups, which can be found here and there, in Denmark, the Netherlands and some Eastern European countries. VS cognac has been matured for three years. The 70 cl bottle of De Pradiére VS cognac in the gift box cost € 23.

Lheraud is one of the major distilleries in the Cognac region, starting production of wine and distillates as early as 1802. However, it has always sold its distillates to other cognac houses and has thus not made a big name in the consumer market. The company did not start bottling cognacs under its own name until 1970, when Andre and Guy L’Heraud modernized the premise’s production. L’Heraud’s cognacs are not so common in this part of Europe, most are sold to bigger markets. L´Heraud publishes a lot of small special bottlings and their products are usually in a fairly high price range. 

The nose is smooth and pleasant. Slightly raisin, dry, some dried apricot and lightly oak. The taste is dry and crisp, as you would expect from VS cognac. Fruity and citrusy hues come slowly after the sharp bite. The aftertaste has a bit of vanilla and spiciness. Once you get over the sharp taste of the beginning, De Pradiére is quite a pleasant one. It has quite a light body, but that is very typical with VS cognacs. As a product of a small producer, it appears that no sugar has been added and maybe also the color has not been supplemented with caramel color.

De Pradiere VS is young, strong and still a little green, but still quite well developed compared to several other VS cognacs. Based on this, I would think that VSOP from the same manufacturer already has a lot to offer.

83/100