With the approach of cold weather, we always try to surround ourselves with warmth, comfort: buy warm clothes, kindle the fireplace, find the woolen blanket put away for summer, drink hot tea or coffee, and in the good company, one can warm the soul and body with a glass of good cognac, and even better if it is French.
In the variety of alcoholic beverages, it is hard to find decent ones. Tasting will help! That is why the leading importer of alcoholic beverages in Ukraine – the company “UkrimportKV” together with the cognac house CAMUS initiated the presentation/tasting of similar-tasting French cognacs, as well as brandies and whiskeys as requested by the cognac house.
The tasting was held in a cozy restaurant “Rakhat-Lukum” for representatives of trade, retail trade, sommeliers of restaurants and boutiques of Donetsk.
In the first part of the tasting, the brand ambassador of CAMUS Aleksandr Ageyev presented a cognac series Elegance with the positions VS, VSOP and XO to the guests. Sommeliers appreciated lightness and fruitiness of VS, and VSOP caused a storm of emotion and praise for the quality of the cognac in this category. They found floral and fruity notes, grapefruit and almond hints, they also noted a subtle and balanced palate, soft and harmonious.
As for XO, the guests appreciated its complex, interesting composition of palate and aroma, in which there was balance between floral and fruity notes, hints of nuts and vanilla, long and spicy finish.
However, the evening has its surprises. The highlight of the tasting was surely the position Josephine of the CAMUS series, unique in the world of cognacs. We all know the Napoleon cognacs that have been produced for a long time by each cognac house in France (including CAMUS). But is there a person who does not know about the beloved woman of Napoleon?! This cognac is a great example of the brilliance of the Camus family and the experience to create blends with unique taste properties, by assembling the best Eau de Vie. The new cognac is very light, with a predominance of floral notes in the aroma and a pleasant sweet taste. Its creation reflects the peculiarities of women’s taste, both organoleptic and aesthetic. The last ones have been realized in an elegant bottle, illustrated by the work of the world famous artist of the modernist style – Alphonse Mucha.
However, the result of the tasting is ambigous. Many evaluated the Josephine cognac as a fairly rich, interesting and complex, simply unique one which will appeal to a woman, as well as a man.
The climax and bright conclusion to the “cognac” part of the tasting was another unique specimen – CamusBorderies (LimitedEdition), as we know, Camus is the largest owner of vineyards in the best appellasone of the province Charente-Borderies and it produces cognacs with the addition of Borderies alcohols, as well as a limited number of 100%-cognac from Borderies. The subtle floral flavor combining the amazing aromatic palette with rich, creamy structure, subtle hint of spices and fruit and a gorgeous, long finish with hints of fresh pastries and spices, have conquered the guests of the evening and left incredible impressions in their memories.
Perhaps, at this stage one should have said: “Now, this is the end of our presentation...”. But no, we promised lots of surprises. After a short pause and public discussion of the presentation, full of wonderful surprises, the guests participated in the second part – brandies. Of course, brandy tasting after the French cognac tasting is a very bold move, but the company “UkrimportKV” decided to go for this experiment, being firmly confident in the quality of French brandies produced as ordered by the cognac house CAMUS. And it was right!
The first specimen is ChatelleNapoleon – the French brand with a rich history, founded in 1828. Created in France, aged in small oak barrels. The blend expert is Patrick Leger – the creator of legendary Camus blends. Sommeliers evaluated this specimen as brandy with a bright and distinctive palate which is rich with wood hints thanks to ageing in small oak barrels and appreciate the great fruity aroma with hints of nuts.
The second specimen, BoncourtXO, is an assemblage of the best cognac spirits, aged in oak barrels carefully maintained by the cellar expert for the development of its rich, complex flavor and a gentle nature. It has a deep red color with amber gleams, gives a rich flavor of praline and dried fruit, as well as wood hints. The palate of the brandy is smooth and round, with a perfect balance of sweet, fruity and bright oak hints; long and elegant finish.
The culmination of the evening was the Scotch whiskey GlenEllis, produced as ordered by the cognac house CAMUS. Despite the fact that this whiskey is a blend, sommeliers and guests of the evening were pleasantly surprised by its softness and how smoky and woody tones with light hints of peat smoothly transit to floral and fruity hints, which are quite rare in the palate and aroma of Scottish whiskeys.
And here is the coffee! The 3C rule – Cognac, Cheese, Coffee! Everything went great! Just Cigars were missing to complete the 4C, but it is an occasion to meet again...
“It’s great that we are all gathered here today...”, as sung in the famous Russin song. These are the words with which the guests left... Other words are just unnecessary...

The climax and bright conclusion to the “cognac” part of the tasting was another unique specimen – CamusBorderies (LimitedEdition), as we know, Camus is the largest owner of vineyards in the best appellasone of the province Charente-Borderies and it produces cognacs with the addition of Borderies alcohols, as well as a limited number of 100%-cognac from Borderies. The subtle floral flavor combining the amazing aromatic palette with rich, creamy structure, subtle hint of spices and fruit and a gorgeous, long finish with hints of fresh pastries and spices, have conquered the guests of the evening and left incredible impressions in their memories.
Perhaps, at this stage one should have said: “Now, this is the end of our presentation...”. But no, we promised lots of surprises. After a short pause and public discussion of the presentation, full of wonderful surprises, the guests participated in the second part – brandies. Of course, brandy tasting after the French cognac tasting is a very bold move, but the company “UkrimportKV” decided to go for this experiment, being firmly confident in the quality of French brandies produced as ordered by the cognac house CAMUS. And it was right!
The first specimen is ChatelleNapoleon – the French brand with a rich history, founded in 1828. Created in France, aged in small oak barrels. The blend expert is Patrick Leger – the creator of legendary Camus blends. Sommeliers evaluated this specimen as brandy with a bright and distinctive palate which is rich with wood hints thanks to ageing in small oak barrels and appreciate the great fruity aroma with hints of nuts.
The second specimen, BoncourtXO, is an assemblage of the best cognac spirits, aged in oak barrels carefully maintained by the cellar expert for the development of its rich, complex flavor and a gentle nature. It has a deep red color with amber gleams, gives a rich flavor of praline and dried fruit, as well as wood hints. The palate of the brandy is smooth and round, with a perfect balance of sweet, fruity and bright oak hints; long and elegant finish.
The culmination of the evening was the Scotch whiskey GlenEllis, produced as ordered by the cognac house CAMUS. Despite the fact that this whiskey is a blend, sommeliers and guests of the evening were pleasantly surprised by its softness and how smoky and woody tones with light hints of peat smoothly transit to floral and fruity hints, which are quite rare in the palate and aroma of Scottish whiskeys.
And here is the coffee! The 3C rule – Cognac, Cheese, Coffee! Everything went great! Just Cigars were missing to complete the 4C, but it is an occasion to meet again...
“It’s great that we are all gathered here today...”, as sung in the famous Russin song. These are the words with which the guests left... Other words are just unnecessary...
 

Tasting of French wines, which Ukrimport company introduces to Ukrainians

The cozy restaurant Mare Azzuro held a tasting of the French wine series introduced by the Ukrainian company Ukrimport.

At this summertime period of the year, all fans of good wines have a sharp question regarding choosing a perfect summer wine. Some make emphasis on its thirst-quenching properties, some focuse on the richness of aroma and taste, others believe that first of all the wine should be very delicate and go well with summer dishes – light vegetable and fruit salads, seafood salads , grilled vegetables, baked fish and tender poultry. But is there a perfect summer wine, which will combine the lightness, richness and depth of the palate and excellent delicacy? This can be found only by trying and tasting. Experts of the company “Ukrimport” conducted a tasting/presentation of the French wine series from manufacturers Gitton Pere & Fils (Loire Valley) and Loron & Fils (Burgundy). Wines of these manufacturers rarely participate in tastings in our area, so they drew special attention from the sommeliers invited by us.

The first wines to be presented at the tasting were the wines of the organic household Gitton Pere & Fils. This is a family-type winery (the staff is just 10 people!), which has been producing wine for several generations. The vineyards of the household are located on the prominent soils of the villages of Sancerre and Menetreol – silicon, as well as different types of chalk soils. The unique terroir gives the Gitton family a possibility to produce wines with sharp freshness, energy, and good tartness. At the tasting at the restaurant “Mare Azzuro” the best wines of the household – white wine Sancerre Bl “Domaine” 2010 and rose Sancerre Rosé “Les Romains” 2010 – were presented. Sancerre is made from selected sauvignon blanc vines.

The wine Sancerre Rosé “Les Romains” 2010 was called a great summer wine option by the sommeliers. It has a delicate aroma of red fruit (chopped strawberries, currants) and it can easily and pleasantly quench your thirst or it can be combined with light summer salads with the minimum amount of spices.

The wine Pouilly Fume Joanne d'Orion 2008 is an elegant, beautiful expression of old Pouilly Fumé vines. The aroma of the wine contains notes of acacia, rose, wild flowers, spices. The palate of the wine is “spiced” with exotic notes, there were deifinitely floral notes in it.

During the second part of the tasting, the wines of the Burgundy manufacturer Loron & Fils were presented. Founded in 1821, the wine house Loron & Fils is one of the oldest family companies in Burgundy and Beaujolais. Today the Loron house is run by the 6th generation led by Xavier Barber. One can only imagine how powerful the traditions are in wine shops of the family winery! Chablis 2010 revealed in glasses their bright aromas – an interesting and enjoyable interweaving of lemon, apple and mineral notes. Sommeliers evaluated the wine as a typical, accurate and pleasant Chablis, which can be enjoyed solo or with seafood, grilled fish or cheese.