The Armagnacs are back on WF


August 25, 2024

The Armagnacs
are back on WF

For this first post-Olympics and heatwave brandy session, we'll allow ourselves to taste around ten Armagnacs. And we'll approach it somewhat at random... Or perhaps vertically, depending on what we come across...

In 1310, Maître Vital Dufour, prior of Eauze (Gers, France), wrote his 'Very Useful Book for Maintaining Health and Staying in Good Shape' that listed forty benefits of Aygue Ardente, which later took the name of the land where it was produced: Armagnac (Picture 1531 edition, Gutenberg, Mainz, kept in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; Rome. Via BNIA).

Château de Laubade 21 yo (45.3%, OB, Bas Armagnac, 1,812 bottles, 2023)

A rather curious Armagnac, presented somewhat like a malt whisky, sans vintage but with an age statement, which is rather unusual, and bottled at a precise ABV ‘with decimal’. It even nabbed a top medal in San Francisco, much like all the Scots (I’m barely exaggerating). Colour: full gold. Nose: the only problem is that it’s simply stunning, brimming with peach, honeysuckle, and liquorice, with tiny touches of star anise and a hint of icy mint, plus a wisp of fireplace smoke. It’s utterly unassailable, as we say. Mouth: oh, but this is marvellous! Soft curry fudge with saffron—is that even a thing? Plus, nougat, sultanas, roasted figs, apricot, and a dash of elderflower liqueur… Finish: medium in length but still wonderfully sweet, with a touch more honey now. Comments: be warned, this goes down far too easily, you might not even notice. And the price is very much ‘new 2024’.
SGP:641 - 89 points.

Château Lassalle Baqué 1995/2023 (48.9%, OB, Ténarèze, cask #4)

100% ugni blanc and straight from Montréal. Montréal-du-Gers, that is. Colour: full gold. Nose: a tad more rustic, but this is a Ténarèze. Touches of varnish and plasticine to start, then a superb combination of oranges, pears, and peaches, both dialled up to eleven. It all blends perfectly with the varnish, with a remarkable firmness. There’s even a bit of fresh paint and equally fresh putty. Mouth: the same rustic feeling, with a touch of Calvados at first, always that varnish note, then peach and apple skins, plums, hay, liquorice wood, herbal teas, greengages, and mirabelles… Finish: rather long, perhaps a bit fruitier, but the aftertaste is quite herbaceous. Comments: a Ténarèze from the fields after a Bas Armagnac from the towns, how amusing. We love them both.
SGP:551 - 88 points.

Garreau-29-yo-1994-2023-50-6-Liquid-Treasures-15th-Anniversary-cask-31

Garreau 29 yo 1994/2023 (50.6%, Liquid Treasures, 15th Anniversary, cask #31)

Gascon oak cask. Château Garreau should be a Bas Armagnac. Colour: deep gold. Nose: varnish notes and even a hint of wood glue, then a slight acetic touch, with a bit of coconut, coffee, apple compote, and notes of… pousse-rapière. Are you familiar with pousse-rapière? With water: rather woody. Hay, tea, cocoa powder, and dark tobacco. Gauloises, like what the rooster on the label seems to be smoking. Mouth (neat): totally a rustic Armagnac. Dark chocolate, rocket, cedar wood, with cherries and prunes in the background. A sweet touch on top. With water: truly a village Armagnac, if you catch my drift. Very authentic, not modern in the slightest. Finish: rather long, still with a slight syrupy note, then prunes and apricot jam. Comments: I fear the previous two might have put a lot of pressure on this lovely baby.
SGP:461 - 85 points.

Whoops, we skipped a 1996...

Domaine de Charron 1996/2024 (48.3%, Swell de Spirits, Flashback #8, Bas Armagnac, 200 bottles)

Made from 100% Baco. Rather interestingly, this Armagnac was rested for 6 months in a demijohn before being bottled, much like we do with our own 'family' eaux-de-vie (though we let ours sit for several years). One can't help but wonder if the Scots might eventually adopt this method to further justify their lofty prices. I must add that the last time we tasted the excellent Domaine de Charron, it was still somewhat less intense than the Godzilla-like label here would suggest. Ha. Colour: deep gold. Nose: yes, quite American in style, we’d say—polished wood and natural vanilla, then melons, peaches, apricots, and liquorice. Nothing sticks out; it’s perfect, precise, seductive, yet authentic (don’t overdo it, S.). With water: more herbs, leaves, fruit peelings, green peaches, and even a curious note of fennel. Mouth (neat): excellent, unmistakably Armagnac now. Wild apples (or russets), sorb, a touch of varnish again, even a drop of acetone, a bit of cider, and perhaps a small glass of Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh. With water: the same profile, little change. Finish: rather long, but careful not to add too much water. Liquorice again. Comments: the best of both worlds, city and country. Super good, though the finish made me knock off a point or two, but as you’ll tell me, the Gascons finish their Armagnacs long before the finale (nice oxymoron, S.).
SGP:551 - 88 points.

Armagnac Secret! 'Lot 16 The Bourbony' (55%, Authentic Spirits, Bas Armagnac, 2024)

At €50 for 50cl, it’s probably not from 1916, though Armagnac still remains scandalously under-priced overall. Colour: deep gold. Nose: I can see why they named it 'The Bourbony'—it's packed with honey, maple syrup, pineapple liqueur, coconut milk, vanilla, and once again, there’s that hint of varnish. They might as well have called it 'The Pina Colada', ha. With water: not much change, just a touch of green apple. Mouth (neat): yes, bourbon. Are we sure this isn’t George Dickel? Can we check the papers? Coconut, vanilla, amaretti, macarons, a hint of lavender... With water: even with water, it's still bourbon, with added notes of candied ginger. Quite the mystery. Finish: fairly long, and similar, though I even find some rye notes beyond the maple syrup. Comments: the worst part is, it’s a very good bourbon. Ah, the power of the mind!
SGP:551 - 85 points.

St Martin 1992/2024 (54.7%, Le Passeur, Bas Armagnac, cask #90)

A baco from Réans nestled in the fauve sands part of the Gers. We've previously encountered some stellar Armagnacs from Le Passeur, and we're quite taken by this notion of a 'passeur,' so much more admirable than the 'profiteer' one sometimes sees in the spirits world. I was informed that this little number needed some breathing time, so we'll let it air out while we enjoy the complete Brandenburg Concertos under Harnoncourt. Colour: deep gold. Nose: amusingly, it opens with a touch of meat reduction and charcoal, quite reminiscent of a barbecue. Then come notes of matches, cigarettes, Spanish cured ham, mastic, and even a hint of miso. We are far, far from the typical honey and peach duo, that's for sure. With water: a sharp U-turn, here comes heather honey and cane sugar syrup, with the water nearly obliterating everything else. How amusing. Mouth (neat): is this truly the same spirit? It's taut, full of citrus, lemon, white pepper, sloe berries, cherry, and then some marmalade... Astonishing. With water: am I dreaming? The meaty extracts return, along with the ham, pepper, and miso... Yet everything is balanced to perfection by the heather and apricot jams. Finish: long, with notes of small raisins and other dried fruits. Goji. Comments: it’s like watching a film. Alain Delon would have adored this multifaceted and slightly – and wonderfully - offbeat Armagnac. At least, I suppose.
SGP:561 - 90 points.

How about we get ourselves a young, strong one?

Castarède 8 yo 2006 ‘Folle Blanche Brut de Fût’ (52%, OB, +/-2023)

An ancestral house from the Gers, bottling its lots by tirages I believe, which means you never really know when your bottles were filled, nor if they’re identical to the others. At any rate, we’ve tasted previous batches of this 8-year-old. More traditional than this, you’d be hard-pressed to find. Of course, it’s possibly not really 8 years old, rather older, but we’re not going to reprint the labels, are we? That costs a pretty penny. Colour: light amber (the previous batch I tried was deep gold). Nose: just obvious, with honey, mango, apples, peaches, nougat, maple syrup, demerara sugar, and more honey still. With water: fresh herbs, dew, sweet mint, gentian... Pure bliss. Mouth (neat): oh, perfect. Peaches and apples, peppery and honeyed, with a subtle herbal tension that keeps it fresh. A touch of cumin. With water: ripe plums arrive, with forest notes, mosses, mushrooms… Finish: earthy touches. Comments: this would be magical with ceps-and-garlic. Just saying.
SGP:661 - 87 points.

Let's get back to our vintages…

Aurian 1979/2022 (41.7%, OB for Whiskyjace, Armagnac, 130 bottles)

A charming vintage, born in the era of Debbie Harry, Television, and Talking Heads—what could possibly go wrong? Colour: amber. Nose: a splendid convergence of fine spirits, primarily armagnac, bourbon, and calvados. This symphony presents itself with varnish, fresh cider, prunes, and a heap of slightly overripe apples. And it works marvellously, offering a nose that’s both soft and complex—one might even call it ‘fusion’. Mouth: initially mirrors the nose, but soon the armagnac takes the lead, as it rightly should. It's like a walk through a Gers forest, with pine needles, ferns, those iconic mushrooms (ceps and caesar's mushrooms!), and a bounty of little plums, some from wild trees. Finish: the calvados makes a comeback, with apples, old farmhouse cider, pepper, green plums, and a hint of mint in the aftertaste. Comments: quite extraordinary that the wood has maintained such elegance and restraint after about 43 years. In any case, this is an Armagnac that would greatly please the old folks of Gers, perhaps enjoyed on a bistro terrace in Condom.
SGP:461 - 90 points.

The next one will be interesting, as it could highlight the value of independent bottlers. For instance, a few years ago, Château Garreau released a whole series of vintage bottles at 40%, some good but not all great. That was until some smart independent bottlers began to take an interest in them... Here's another example:

Garreau 50 years old 1974/2024 (51.2%, C. Dully Selection, Bas Armagnac, cask #7499, 144 bottles)

A blend of Baco and Ugni Blanc. Fifty years old and 260 Swiss francs—enough to shame countless whisky brands that can’t boast a tenth of the prestige of these old Armagnacs, and who, by the way, are increasingly starting to feel it. But let’s move on... Colour: dark amber. Nose: just extraordinary. Coffee, cigars, peonies, Corinthian raisins, fig liqueur, old Meursault, blackberry jam, Ethiopian coffee. With water: beeswax, milk chocolate, wild strawberry jam. Mouth (neat): magical. Honestly, who could bring themselves to reduce/ruin a spirit like this to 40% ABV? Chocolate, ganache, prunes, old red wine (Pomerol, naturally), and chestnut honey. With water: the return of raisins, salinity, liquorice, and very old sweet wines… Finish: not that long, but this unexpected salinity works brilliantly. A touch of onion soup (yes, really). Comments: in reality, there are plenty of tiny flaws in these old Armagnacs, but that’s undeniably part of their charm. Who would still want a fifteen-year-old Speysider ‘Triple Cask’ sold at an even higher price than this 50-year-old Armagnac? Daylight robbery, and we all know it.
SGP: 651 - 90 points.

Since we must conclude...

Domaine de Gaube 1929 (45%, Francis Darroze, Bas Armagnac, +/-1980)

We’re in Le Frèche in the Landes, which could be considered the Kildalton shore of Armagnac. There’s a prominent ‘D’ on the label, which in France implies it should have been bottled in or before 1982. But curiously, this is a 70cl bottle, not the usual 75cl, which adds a layer of intrigue since the shift from 75cl to 70cl didn’t occur until around 1992, if I’m not mistaken. They’ve been practising ‘tirages’, so you encounter various bottling dates from the same cask/batch. Colour: amber. Nose: it’s akin to an old amontillado, truly. Melted butter, toffee, walnut liqueur, mushrooms, caraway, a hint of vin jaune, mustard, very aromatic hay, fudge… This one goes beyond mere organoleptic analysis, venturing into poetic philosophy. Mouth: good Lord! Raisins, saffron, Cuban tobacco, black nougat, morels, and yes, let’s go for it, lobster bisque. Don’t worry, I won’t mention Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi again. Finish: long, incredible, more akin to old wines than to spirits. It reminds one of an aged Château-Châlon, for instance. We might even go further, to a Vigne-aux-Dames from Marius Perron. OK, now I’ve lost everyone. Comments: a spirit in the universe of wine, or perhaps the other way around. And remember to factor in the years, we’re far from any vulgar contemporary aromatisation. You see what I mean.
SGP: 562 - 92 points.

Monday update! Actually, in France, French spirits like Armagnacs or Cognacs have always been bottled in 70cl bottles, whereas imported spirits, like whiskies, were in 75cl bottles—hence my grave mistake. Perhaps this 5cl difference also partly explains the immense success of Scotch in France, ha. To make things even more complicated, Cognacs, for example, could be exported in 75cl bottles or other sizes, like 72 or 73cl. Everything is always very straightforward in France. Moreover, as was the case with various tax strips in Italy, for example, labels featuring a large ‘D’ were allowed to be used by small producers for several years after their official discontinuation (with our heartfelt thanks to Emile).

(Merci Angus!)

Check the index of all Armagnac we've tasted so far