Ragnaud Sabourin Réserve Spéciale No. 20 700mL NV

Ragnaud Sabourin Réserve Spéciale No. 20 is a Grande Champagne Cognac from an estate that grows, distils and ages everything it sells.

Ambleville lies in the middle of Grande Champagne, the innermost cru of Cognac, where the chalk subsoil holds water through dry summers and is credited with producing eaux-de-vie that reward very long ageing. Ragnaud-Sabourin works with Ugni Blanc together with Folle Blanche, the older variety that dominated the region before phylloxera and is now rare. The wine is distilled twice in copper alembic stills, then aged in Limousin oak casks in the family cellars, where the humidity of the chai governs how the spirit concentrates over the years. The numbered bottlings ascend in age through the range, and the house does not use caramel, sugar or oak extracts to adjust what comes out of the barrel.

Best served neat at room temperature in a tulip glass after dinner, without ice.