Alc. 40%
Nose:
At first whiff, bruised banana and wood, leading off to some dank notes. After some much needed airing, the nose is of decomposed forest notes; turned earth, forest floor and mushrooms. There are some fantastic rotten fruit notes, leather, rubber and linen closet with some cigar tobacco. Perfume, vanilla and cedar make up some of the treble notes. Steeped saffron.
Palate:
A confusing, wonderful and unexpected mix of burnt wood, rotten berries, cola, exotic spice, fresh earth and bitter vegetation. Theres a light and uplifting bubblegum taste. Complex and pleasing with a smooth, long finish.
Overall:
Fantastic. Not to be missed.
score: 92
Please note:
Armagnac is an aged spirit based on wine. The wine is produced from white grapes that do not make good wine, but rather distill well and are better suited for brandies.
Quite often, in the case of Armagnac we purchase in north America, wines are sourced out from farmers and distilled once in a column type of still and aged in limousine region French oak. The resulting brandy is often switched from barrel to barrel as the aging process continues. The first barrels used may be virgin or first fill barrels, which are then dumped into more used barrels, so not to impart too much oak on the flavor of the brandy. The barrels are never ‘topped up’ with younger brandy.
The collection of sourced, distilled and aged wines are then blended and bottled with a ‘house’ name(brand) and sold to the spirits market. Spirits obtained in this manner are often marked ‘negociant’. There are not many Armagnac houses that produce their own wine for distillation.
Often referred to as gangly and undesirable, Armagnac finds itself becoming superior at the 15 year age statement. At the 15 year age point, it is widely remarked that Armagnac can champion cognac.
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