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Overall (86)
While mainstream corporate houses slap an "XO" badge on spirits aged barely ten years and charge an arm and a leg for a fancy decanter, Vallein Tercinier quietly delivers a bottle where the youngest component has been snoozing in oak for about 35 years. Hailing from an independent family house, this bottling skips the gaudy marketing fluff and lets pure, geriatric cask patience do all the talking
Aroma
Pour it and give it some breathing room, because 35 in French oak will not be rushed. Once it wakes up, it unleashes an incredible wave of candied peach, juicy purple grapes, and dried apricots tangled with sweet honeysuckle and lime blossom. Right behind the fruit comes that unmistakable antique warehouse vibe old leather armchairs, dusty library books, vanilla bean, and a wisp of sweet pipe tobacco
Taste
On the palate it lands with zero alcohol burn and coats your mouth with an almost honeyed, oily texture. The taste kicks off with grape candy sweetness, dried plums, and caramelized citrus peel before diving straight into the deep end of rancio territory. You get sophisticated layers of beeswax, cinnamon sticks, dark walnut oil, and an earthy touch of forest mushroom that keeps the sweetness completely in check
Finish
The finish hangs around so long it could practically pay rent, lingering for solid minutes with absolute dignity. It slowly dries out on antique polished oak, baking spices, a touch of white pepper, and old tawny port sweetness that refuses to quit.
