I have a bottle of courvoisier XO, the labels are all in french, the
box says Oscar de l'emballage 1984 on it. Unopened and sealed bottle,
any ideas what this is worth? worth just drinking it?

AFAIK, brandy does not improve once bottled, but it doesn't go bad,
either, as long as it's been properly sealed and hasn't evaporated.

I have a bottle of Clos des Ducs VSOP Armagnac that was gifted to me in
1994, and I still haven't opened it. I recently rediscovered it in my
cellar, and am waiting for the proper company.

So regarding age, any value assigned to it would be on account of it
being an XO, and time in bottle would be irrelevant.

However, I'm willing to stand corrected.

- Chris

"Mirek" > skrev i melding
oups.com...
>I have a bottle of courvoisier XO, the labels are all in french, the
> box says Oscar de l'emballage 1984 on it. Unopened and sealed bottle,
> any ideas what this is worth? worth just drinking it?
>
Wrong group,actually. This is for wine.
Cognac doesn't develop in bottle, like any spirit - so the value is that of
a 'new' bottle - i.e. 80-100 USD.
Drink if you like smooth brandy, it is not bad at all. Serve at room
temperature, sip and sniff.
hth
Anders

great, thanks, i'll drink it

In oups.com,
Mirek > types these words of wisdom:
> I have a bottle of courvoisier XO, the labels are all in french, the
> box says Oscar de l'emballage 1984 on it. Unopened and sealed bottle,
> any ideas what this is worth? worth just drinking it?


It is Cognac and I see you had some good answers from your post in the
Scotch group


--
Lew/+Silat

"Chris Sprague" > wrote:

> I have a bottle of Clos des Ducs VSOP Armagnac that was gifted
> to me in 1994, and I still haven't opened it. I recently
> rediscovered it in my cellar, and am waiting for the proper
> company.

If it's the standard (=VSOP) bottling and not something better
(XO, Extra etc.), don't expect too much: It's the most basic
Brandy, with markedly less depth of flavor than basic Cognac.

M.

VS is the basic bottling, VSOP middle of the road, and XO is the
highest. And I happen to like Armagnac better than Cognac, and would
say that even basic Armagnacs have more depth of flavor than even great
Cognacs.

Or does VS not exist in Armagnac, thus making VSOP the low end?

- Chris

"Chris Sprague" > skrev i melding
ups.com...
> VS is the basic bottling, VSOP middle of the road, and XO is the
> highest. And I happen to like Armagnac better than Cognac, and would
> say that even basic Armagnacs have more depth of flavor than even great
> Cognacs.
>
I'd tend to agree with you there, Chris.
The dictionary says: Armagnac employs the local black oak for aging instead
of the Limousin oak used for Cognac. Black oak imparts more flavor to the
Armagnac and allows for faster aging. The result is that Armagnac is silky
smooth but fuller-flavored than Cognac, although it generally doesn't have
the finesse of the finest Cognacs.
Anders

"Chris Sprague" > wrote:

> VS is the basic bottling, VSOP middle of the road, and XO is the
> highest.

In priciple yes, but not with Clés (not Clos) des Ducs.

> And I happen to like Armagnac better than Cognac, and would say
> that even basic Armagnacs have more depth of flavor than even
> great Cognacs.

Tastes are different. Although Armagnac is said to be more rustic
than Cognac, I generally found it sweeter, smoother, with much
less complexity, "fire" and grip than Cognac.

> Or does VS not exist in Armagnac, thus making VSOP the low end?

With Clés des Ducs, VSOP is the low end.

M.

VSOP may be Cl=E9s des Ducs lowest offering, but it doesn't necessarily
correspond to the low end of brandies as a whole, which you were
implying in your earlier post.

- Chris

"Chris Sprague" > wrote:

> VSOP may be Clés des Ducs lowest offering, but it doesn't
> necessarily correspond to the low end of brandies as a whole,
> which you were implying in your earlier post.

Sorry, what I wanted to say is that Clés des Ducs VSOP is a very
basic Armagnac.

M.