A magnificent forty-year old French Cognac in a stunning decanter.

Paul Giraud has been located in the town of Bouteville in the Cognac region of France for more than two hundred years. They only use grapes grown on their estate, harvested by hand. And they maintain “pure vintage” rules — meaning that Eau d’ Vie from different years are not mixed. Over the centuries, they have built up exceptional inventories of Cognac in their cellars — some many decades old. Importantly, there are gentle, natural springs that flow in and out of their aging cellars that help maintain humidity and temperature and allow the Cognac to age “softly.”

The first thing you notice about Paul Giraud Cognac Tres Rare is the lovely, gently twisting decanter. It is almost an art piece itself. But the spirit inside that lovely decanter is even more special. First, it is an expert combination of ugni blanc, folle blanche, and colombard grapes distilled in small batch copper pot stills. But the aging is simply remarkable — this exceptionally old example of French tradition has aged in those special cellars for an average of forty years.