A voter santé! Raymond Dudognon first distilled his own cognac in 1946, following the venerable traditions laid down by his great grandfather in 1776. The heart of the Charente region, located about 100 miles northeast of Bordeaux, is called Grande Champagne, and consists of deep chalk-rich soils, perfect for creating fragrant, long-lived cognacs. Made from 100% natural Ugni Blanc, this singular spirit is blended and distilled in the traditional alambic Charentais pot and eventually aged in 350 liter barrels. The Dudognon homage to tradition stresses minimal intervention, using only pure water as an additive to create a stunning cognac that charms and caresses the palate, displaying a weightlessness and delicacy of fruit found less commonly in cognacs at twice the price. Highly recommended!

Soft, silky smooth and voluptuous, refined and delicate, this Cognac is sheer pleasure. The flavors are a pleasing accord of pear, apple, warm spice and caramel. If you're thinking sidecars and such, you probably want to go for the Deret VSOP. The Dudognon's charms are pretty much obliterated in cocktails. This is hardly a defect. I'd wager you won't want to mix it with anything once you've tried it. The one exception I found to this was when one-quarter to one-half ounce was added to a Champagne cocktail. That makes for a sensational drink.

This is one of my favorite Cognacs. The reason is that it has everything that I think a good Cognac should have. The Dudognon Reserve is soft, elegant and packed full of delicate flavors. The finish just lingers and goes on and on, showing that this is a high quality spirit.