Ivar Stulen from Skien Norway and Christian Bache Gabrielsen from Cognac in France struggle to get a bottle of cognac, packed in a wooden box, into a small carrier bag.

Ivar bought this bottle from Christian Bache Gabrielsen, and what a bottle, and what a cognac ! It is a Hors D'age Grande Champagne, a pure Grande Champagne cognac, whose oldest components date back to 1917 and the youngest to 1960. The cognac has a dark, golden color, adding a rich, generous aroma creating what the French would call a real bouquet. This Grand Champagne has a fine balance of fruit, flowers and spicy tones derived from the storage in oak casks. People who knows say that the aroma from one glass can fill a whole room !!! With a round, strong palate, almost an oily consistency, it delivers a distinctive and unmistakable hint of Grande Champagne with its renowned long aftertaste. A cognac that takes decades to make - but it is worth waiting for. This is what the producer says.

Ivar might wait until 2013 before he opens the bottle ...

The bottle that Ivar bought has won the International Wine and Spirits Competition Gold Medal in 2000 and 2004. The bottle received the award for the Best Design in 2000, and Best in Class in 2008.

And Christian Bache Gabrielsen personally signed Ivar's bottle, under Telemark Heritage's supervision.