Time for some older high-class armagnacs


February 11, 2024

A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace!

Time for some older high-class armagnacs

We've had some excellent younger ones last week and stopped in the year 2000, let's have some of their ancestors this time. We'll most probably do another session in February.

Alambic armagnacais at Domaine de la Tuilerie, Ortès 1949 model (Domaine de la Tuilerie)

Domaine de Danis 1999/2022 (46%, OB, armagnac, folle blanche, pièce #11)

From a fairly large estate in Castelnau d'Auzan, in the Gers, near the Landes. They also produce Côtes de Gascogne wines. We had tried a very good Danis armagnac 2002 two years ago (WF 85). Colour: deep gold. Nose: juicy and fruity, full of juicy sultanas, with lovely touches of praline and black nougat, then all-flower honey, tarte tatin, honeysuckle and preserved peaches. Extremely classic, awesome folle blanche and something a little cognacqy (no offence meant). Mouth: indeed it is really very sweet, with bags of raisins and what you would call 'some rancio', some fudge, dried pear slices, a little liquorice, a very tiny touch of rubber, some orange blossom water… It is, indeed, a very pretty 'folle blanche' but I find it rather less rustic than others in their neighbourhood. Finish: medium, sweet, rounded. Very pleasant liquorice and stewed apples and pears in the aftertaste. Comments: they tell us that sadly, there's no armagnac 2022 at Danis because of some heavy episodes of hail. Well, this fairly easy folle blanche 1999 was exquisite.
SGP:641 - 87 points.

Domaine Lous Pibous 27 yo 1995/2023 (52.3%, L'Encantada, Collection Renaissance, Bas-armagnac, folle blanche, cask #140, 310 bottles)

I have the impression that Lous Pibous became rather a star domaine, thanks to those smart people at L'Encantada. Colour: copper. Nose: rather a lot of varnish at first, with a 'Pappy VW' side perhaps, then fresh paint, then putty, oranges, beeswax and honeys, then just quince jelly and a little pipe tobacco. I'm afraid this is a perfect development. With water: old woods coming out, old wine cellar, soot, saltpetre, mushrooms, some old apples, old cans of paint sitting in a corner, old books and magazines in another corner… Mouth (neat): high-powerz leaves and stems, fruit stones, gritty almonds, lemon peel, turmeric… Is this rustic this time! With water (and a good 15 minutes): towards herbal teas, cinnamon, dark tobacco (Gauloise of course), black tea… There's something 'authentic' about this one. Finish: long, with rather a lot of very-well-integrated oak, which would lead to raw chocolate and coffee beans. Comments: I believe this is the kind of armagnac that the people down there like most. While when in Rome… Just one thing, only add drops of water.
SGP:561 - 90 points.

Domaine de Laballe 1991/2023 (45.2%, Kirsch Import, Journal des Kirsch #4, Bas-armagnac, 136 bottles)

Once again, we're more or less on the border between Gers and Landes, on the famous fauve sands. As for these Journaux des Kirsch, the three first ones, all cognacs if I remember well, rather startled the gallery last year. Colour: copper gold. Nose: pinot noir! Seriously, you would almost believe you're nosing a fresh pinot noir from one of the best parts of Burgundy. What we call 'old floorcloth', aromas that we just cherish. It's then geared towards varnishy calvados, with also whiffs of black truffle and morels, as well as a little miso soup. Let me double-check the label… Good, indeed this is armagnac. Incredible. Mouth: this time it's rather old pinot noir, with mushrooms and some old cherry cordial, some saltiness, some bone-dry black coffee, and then the craziest ripe guavas, while we know guavas can get really crazy. Overripe bananas too, which would almost impart some kind of 'armagnac agricole' side to it. Finish: long, very fruity now, almost extravagantly so. Comments: epic and splendid, some easy 91 points for this restless little '91.
SGP:652 - 91 points.

Ferme de Bacoge 33 yo 1990/2023 (50.3%, ROW Spirits, Bas-armagnac, sister casks #54 & 4, 676 bottles)

100% baco. I find it amusing that they would grow baco at the Bacoge farm. Let's see if this one will be a good as the Ladevèze by ROW Spirits that we tried last week (WF 89). Colour: copper. Nose: 90+. Seriously, anyone will only need one sniff to sort things out here. Dried figs, tobacco, beeswax, dried meats (beef jerky), potting soil, preserved peaches, one prune, a drop of cellulosic varnish, a cup of old pu-her tea, old bits of leather, some menthol embrocations… With a tiny drop of water: sublime. Old books, horse saddle, box of cigars, beeswax, camphor… Mouth (neat): more rustic on the palate, somewhat gritty (teas, nut skins), but extremely pleasant. Tiny touches of glue from the wood. With that tiny drop of water: the fruits chiming in, sultanas, figs, oranges, peaches… Finish: medium, rather on all things oranges and clementines. A little turmeric and cinnamon in the aftertaste. Comments: the nose was utterly grand, the palate very, very good. Had the palate matched the nose, this would have been a pure legend of armagnacdom, in my humblest opinion..
SGP:562 - 90 points.

Perhaps a Ténarèze…

Rounagle 36 yo 1986/2023 (51.3%, Grape of The Art, Ténarèze, cask #78)

Pure ugni blanc from the region of Condom. First time I'm hearing of Rounagle, while as it appears, they've also started making whisky. Colour: amber. Nose: peaches, nougat, maple syrup, drops of sweet manseng (grand and petit) and just sugarcane syrup and roasted peanuts. This is all extremely civilised, easy, consensual, extremely well crafted. With water: touch of varnish and paint, then cakes, tarte tatin, crème brulée, rum… Mouth (neat): rather cognac-style. Candy sugar, tinned peaches, marmalade, sultanas, soft wood spices, triple-sec, all that over a creamy, almost heavy texture. Heavy-ish. With water: small herbs kicking in, mint, a little basil, coriander leaves, more raisins too. Finish: medium, with some floral tones and the impression of having gulped down a large slice of pecan tart. Fruit peel in the aftertaste, especially peach. Plus mint and mocha. Comments: exactly what we call a more than perfect allrounder.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Domaine de la Tuilerie 39 yo 1984/2023 (44.5%, Amateur Spirit, Bas-armagnac)

100% baco this time and the famed fauve sands again. Colour: copper amber. Nose: intriguing nose, rather delicate, with both some damp black earth and flowers, wisteria, proper geranium, some spearmint rubbed between your fingers… Then prunes and roses, turron, roasted pecans, humidor, cedarwood, teas… Well, it's just that it is a little slow. Mouth: a little oak-driven but in this kind of context, that just works. Mint tea, black Assam (not sure that's black Assam but we've decided to use that term once and for all), very dark chocolate, thin mints, blackberry juice, sloe, earthier damson plums… What's amusing here is that the old wood expresses itself as black tea rather than as typical wood spices, cloves, cinnamon and so on. Finish: long, with a little juniper, more black Assam (right), cocoa, coffee, some grittier slivovitz, Solidarnosc plums in chocolate (of course that exists)… Comments: completely different but same ballpark as that of the more sophisticated Rounagle as far as scores are concerned. A true son of the soil and of the cask.
SGP:561 – 89 points.

Domaine Séailles 1986/2021 (57%, OB for armagnac.de, Ténarèze, cask #4)

That's also what's funny, in general, cask numbers in whisky go like #715694275B… whereas in Armagnac, that's more like 'cask #4' indeed. Anyway, we're in the Gers once more, in Mouchan to be precise, north of Vic-Fezensac. Colour: rich gold. Nose: ea-sy. Peach syrup, touch of vanilla, sultanas, dried apricots, dandelions, meadow honey, apple pie, raisin rolls, a little wood dust (no prob). With water: not much change, perhaps more oranges. Mouth (neat): exceptional maltiness (but yes), some minerality, oranges and triple-sec, lemon cake, wine gums… It's true that old armagnacs bottled at 100 UK proof are pretty uncommon. With water: splendid. Eucalyptus, camphor, liquorice, grape juice and compadres, plus indeed triple-sec. Say Cointreau. Finish: long, more on black tea and chocolate, with grape pips and leaves leading to orange zests in the slightly drying aftertaste. Comments: I get the impression that Armagnac producers leave their spirits in wood longer than the Cognaçais, which can give their spirits, beyond a certain age, an absolutely charming but also sometimes slightly tiring roughness. Feeling as though you've swallowed an untipped Gauloise isn't necessarily extremely pleasant, even if you appreciate the concept.
SGP:661 - 89 points.

A fine collective effort today, showing great consistency in terms of quality if not in style. But that was to be expected, as we are mainly seeking proper malternatives while carefully avoiding the small fry. A small fry that, in any case, seldom comes our way. They're not fools.

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