Whisky MICHEL COUVREUR - Hexagone - French Blended Malt - L.3557 - 46.50%
The Michel Couvreur house is a unique address in the world of whisky, established in Burgundy and known for its artisanal approach focused on the art of barrel aging. Far from classic Scottish or Japanese distilleries, Michel Couvreur works primarily as a master blender, selecting malts and marrying them with barrels chosen with extreme care. The cellars, dug into the rock, offer slow and steady aging conditions, where humidity and coolness shape the texture of the whiskies. The philosophy of the house is based on a search for harmony between the character of the malt and the nobility of the barrels, often from great wines. Each batch is produced in limited quantities, numbered, and rigorously monitored, in a nearly Burgundian spirit. Hexagone fits into this vision by offering a decidedly French blended malt, celebrating the know-how of distillers and blenders from the Hexagon.
Hexagone French Blended Malt L.3557 46.50% is a blend of malt whiskies exclusively from French distilleries, selected for their aromatic complementarity and structure. The different malts are first aged separately before being married in Michel Couvreur’s cellars, where they benefit from the underground microclimate and the signature of oak barrels. The choice of barrels from varied origins, sometimes marked by the passage of great wines or fortified wines, brings depth, spices, and complexity. The final blend is then refined until an ideal balance is reached between indulgence, freshness, and tension. Bottled at 46.50%, it preserves the aromatic density and character of the malt while offering a full and caressing texture. Numbered by batch, Hexagone L.3557 presents itself as a characterful cuvée, both identifiable and evolving, proudly representing French whisky.
On tasting, Hexagone French Blended Malt L.3557 46.50% reveals a deep golden robe with amber highlights, bright and luminous. The nose opens with notes of malted cereal, light honey, and ripe yellow fruits, peach and mirabelle plum, enhanced by touches of vanilla, dried flowers, and a hint of soft spices. On the palate, the attack is smooth then quickly gains breadth, with a rich body blending cooked fruits, biscuit, blond caramel, and a perfectly integrated woody framework. The texture is round but held by the strength, which brings energy and length without burning, allowing fine nuances of dried fruits, hazelnut, and delicate vinous accents to express themselves. The finish is long, harmonious, marked by controlled warmth, a return to malt, spices, and a slight saline touch that calls for the next sip. At the table, this French Blended Malt ideally accompanies smoked salmon, roasted poultry, aged Comté cheese, a dried fruit dessert, or milk praline chocolate, and is also perfectly savored alone as a digestif to appreciate all its nuances.
