Ragnaud Sabourin XO Extra No. 25 700mL NV

Ragnaud Sabourin XO Extra No. 25 is a long matured Cognac from Grande Champagne, grown, distilled and aged on a single family property.

XO now requires a minimum of ten years in wood, a threshold raised from six in 2018, and the older bottlings in this range go well past it. The estate lies at Ambleville in Grande Champagne, the first of Cognac's crus, where deep chalk gives thin, sharp base wine that distils into spirit of unusual staying power. Ugni Blanc, with a proportion of Folle Blanche, is fermented without chaptalisation, as the appellation requires, and distilled twice in copper alembics before ageing in Limousin oak, moving from more active casks to older, more neutral wood as the years pass. Nothing is added to adjust colour or sweetness.

Serve neat at room temperature in a tulip glass after dinner; it needs no ice, and repays a few minutes standing in the glass.