Old & Rare Brandies
At the sale to Gallo, Germain-Robin’s cellar had hundreds of Limousin oak barrels of aging brandies, up to 34 years old, which were likely the most varied and complex on the planet. No other brandy or whiskey cellar remotely approached the extensive flavors and aromatics in the brandies distilled from two dozen varietals of premium wine grapes: sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, semillon, chenin blanc, French colombard. These brandies were largely held separate and unblended, each barrel holding a single varietal brandy from a single vintage.
Validation? R W Apple of the New York Times, after tasting the Anno Domini 2000, called it “superior to Hennessy Paradis and equal to the finest aged cognacs”, and Robb Report Magazine name it the world’s “Best Spirit”.
While some of these brandies were used in the XO, most of those 15 years or older were released either as “Single-Barrel Brandies” or, just before the sale, as “Small Blends”. A few of Germain-Robin’s last releases are listed below. You cannot buy equivalent spirits at anything approaching these prices.
Single-Barrel Releases
Recognized as exceptional when distilled and carefully tended for many years. The V before the barrel number is for Vieux, French for old: since Germain-Robin knew they would be holding the contents for a long time, they used an older barrel so the brandy would not become overly oaked.
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GERMAIN-ROBIN Single-Barrel V217 Pinot Noir
Distilled in 2001 from grapes grown by Roederer Estate and vinified at the winery. Probably the only brandy ever made from still wine vinified for excellent sparkling wine. Exceptional.
750 ml / 41.6% abv
$150.00
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Germain-Robin Single-Barrel Viognier
Viognier, one of our first trials with aromatic grapes, was a revelation: incredibly fine and delicate, yet with notable and nuanced flowery fruitiness (white peach). Limit 1 bottle per customer.
750 ml / 41.7% abv
$180.00
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Small Blends
Ansley Coale asked cellarmaster Joseph Corley to put together occasional releases using what Corley thought would make exceptional blends. This was to showcase the astonishing richness, balance, and complexity that could be achieved working with the exceptionally wide range of flavors and aromatics deriving from distilling and aging many different premium varietal wine grapes
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GERMAIN-ROBIN Small Blend no. 2
1984 Gamay, rich 1989 old-vine Colombard, and an elegant 1994 Pinot Noir from Napa’s Clos du Val. Truly great brandy: buy this. Limit 1 bottle per customer.
750 ml / 44.5% abv
$300.00
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GERMAIN-ROBIN Small Blend no. 1
Includes a 1990 pinot noir from Mendocino County’s oldest planting and a rich 1983 French colombard, twenty-eight years old. Unfiltered. Unusual depth. 220 bottles released in 2011
750 ml / 41.8% abv
$275.00
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GERMAIN-ROBIN Small Blend no. 3
1996 Roederer Pinot Noir, 1985 Gamay, two 1997 Colombards, and a 1996 blend of aromatics: Muscat, Riesling, & Viognier. Extraordinary richness, balance, and complexity.
750 ml / 43% abv
$285.00
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Old & Rare Brandies
Among Germain-Robin’s oldest and finest. There is significant evaporative loss in aging. What evaporates is water and pure alcohol, and the original flavors and aromas (the esters) are still there, meaning that they get increasingly concentrated (and deeper) as the years pass and the volume of liquid in the barrel diminishes..
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GERMAIN-ROBIN GR/30
Pinot Noir and Colombard from 1983 and 1984. Pinot elegance, Colombard breadth and depth. We have fewer than 30 bottles. Limit 1 bottle per customer.
750 ml
$500.00
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GERMAIN-ROBIN Barrel V154 Chenin Blanc
Single barrel of 1985 old-vine Chenin Blanc from the Wegner vineyard. It has aged absolutely perfectly: deep Chenin fruit, huge concentration of flavor. The aromatics are wonderfully intense. We have 12 bottles. Limit 1 bottle per customer.
750 ml / 44.3% abv
$600.00
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GERMAIN-ROBIN Barrel 351
Single barrel of 1987 Pinot Noir from the Welch vineyards in Potter Valley. Great concentration of flavor, the angel’s share over 27 years leaving 44.9% from the original 71%. Our most noble brandy. 30 bottles remain. Limit 1 bottle per customer.
750 ml / 44.9% abv
$600.00
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GERMAIN-ROBIN Augustín’s Blend
Pinot Noirs from 1988 and 1989, with a touch of Colombard, aged for 22 years in a 50-liter cask. Colombard fruit, way deeper now, and beautifully long Pinot refinement. Limit 1 bottle per customer.
750 ml / 42.7% abv
$700.00
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GERMAIN-ROBIN Cask 17.2
Our best stuff, 25-30 years old, married another year in a tiny cask that holds only 15 bottles worth. A customer after tasting it bought 6 bottles: “I don’t want to drink anything else.” This is the second batch, of which we still have 8 bottles. Rich rich rich/deep deep deep. It takes some 35 minutes to fully open in the glass. Limit 1 bottle per customer.
750 ml / 45.5% abv
$1,200.00
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