Composition is this producer’s first non-XO release, yet even here Tesseron have aimed to make something very special for its level. It pours a bright, light amber colour and offers aromatics of spiced autumn fruit, white flowers and fresh plum, while on the palate there is that classic Tesseron texture and vinous, fruity complexity—ensuring this Cognac’s sipping credentials. Important to note that there is no added colour, it is the older material in this blend that brings the hue and depth. At the bar, we have found the spirit mixes beautifully, adding finesse and lift to a wide range of stirred and shaken drinks. This makes sense, Tesseron told us that they had comprehensively tested the Composition in a number of classic cocktails before the final blend was signed off. It’s an exceptional and versatile example of Cognac at an exciting new price point.

With an average age of over ten years, this is made from Cognac’s three terroirs: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne and Fins Bois. The Ovation’s distinctive character comes from long aging in Limousin oak barrels, which adds fullness, spice and sweetness. The pure aroma offers up ripe pears, spiced apples, maple syrup and vanilla. The palate is silky smooth, with perfectly integrated spirit and a mouth-coating texture. A very fine Cognac and a superb XO for the money.

An exceptional blend of 25- to 30-year-old reserve stocks of Grande Champagne Cognacs, with distillations going back to the mid-1970s. It has a striking copper colour. On the nose there is an intense fragrance of roasted nuts, wood spice, leatherwood honey and baked pears, while the deep palate is viscous, dense even, with complex notes of Bosc pear, almond, Oloroso Sherry and orange peel. The finish is long and warming with hints of brown sugar, vanilla and sea salt. A stunning, mouth-filling and savoury Cognac.

A blend of Tesseron’s sublime stocks of Grande Champagne Cognac distilled in the 1950s and aged for two generations in Limousin casks. Here the Grande Champagne terroir really comes into its own, with layer after layer of rich, hedonistic wave of roasted nuts, mixed peel, raisins, dark chocolate and wild honey notes. For all its mouth-coating richness and intensity, it has a knock-out pillowy texture, perfect spirit integration and some super-complex rancio notes on the long finish.

The original jewel of the Tesseron collection is a unique blend of legendary Grande Champagne Cognacs, including some of the family’s finest, oldest and rarest stocks. From distillations begun in the 1920s, and even a proportion of the blend from 1905 and 1906, it is a very rare Cognac that has been lovingly aged for three generations. It also includes some Colombard and Folle Blanche—extreme rarities today. To us, this is as good a Cognac as most are ever likely to taste. You can get older and rarer, yet this will never suffer by comparison.

Composed of one 50ml bottle each of Lot Nos. 90, 76, 53 and 29, offered in a presentation box. It’s a great introduction to the Cognac Tesseron Collection.

Aged for an average of 15 years, with at least 10 years maturing in Limousin oak barrels, this elegant, ethereal XO is a blend of Cognacs from the Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne and Fins Bois areas. Roughly thirty elements in total (made entirely from Ugni Blanc) were selected specifically for their graceful and floral qualities.

The Passion blend leaps out of the glass with a vinous, fruity bouquet that then leads to a palate of flowing texture with flavours of preserved citrus, vanilla, figs and complex spices. A wonderfully hedonistic and complex Cognac.

Aged, as Albert Tesseron puts it, “for one generation” (meaning 25-plus years) the Extra Légende was created from a blend of Tesseron Grande Champagne reserve wines. Its deep complexity was built around the inclusion of around 50 eaux-de-vie (including a number made from the Folle Blanche variety, a rarity in Cognac today) and its maturation in cellars of different humidity levels. It carries a little more earthy, woody spice than the Passion, with deeper, more mature candied fruit notes as well. There are also heady, deep, floral top notes, rich, spicy base notes, a velveteen texture and an extraordinarily long finish. Another stunning XO.

The pinnacle of the new collection, Trésor was crafted from a blend of around 100 eaux-de-vie, each selected for their finesse, depth, richness and length. This rarefied blend of spirits was then aged for more than two generations (50+ years) in special barrels famed for their age and rarity, called tierçons, within the Tesseron family's Paradis cellar (where the most valuable Cognacs are kept). Of course these eaux-de-vie are all Grande Champagne in origin, and all three major grape varieties (Ugni Blanc, Colombard, and Folle Blanche) are represented. This ensures the Trésor is comprised of only best and most complex raw materials available.

It's a sublimely opulent Cognac with intense rancio notes (smoky/nutty characters) that as Albert Tesseron says, "you never find in Cognacs less than two generations old". More viscous and dense in the mouth than the Légende, it's still remarkably sophisticated and (indescribably) complex, with prodigious length on the finish. Each sip fills the mouth with perfume. Sheer indulgence.