Quite a bit of Ténarèze and a few other Armagnacs


May 10, 2026

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!

Quite a bit of Ténarèze and a few other Armagnacs

Bourdilet

At Maison Bourdilet in Condom (Bourdilet)

And we’re going to start straight away with a little aperitif that you can generally find here in supermarkets. It’s inexpensive and, I think, mainly used in cooking, in desserts and so on. But we’re not afraid of anything!...

Saint-Vivant (40%, OB, armagnac, +/-2025)

It says on the packaging that this is a blend of Ténarèze and Bas-Armagnac, which makes sense given that the brand is based in Condom. There are also dessert recipes, such as ‘vanilla panna cotta with armagnac jelly’. What was I telling you? The house belongs to La Martiniquaise (Glen Moray, Saint James, J.Bally…). Colour: gold. Nose: rather pleasant, with liquorice caramel, vanilla, fresh hay, little touches of aniseed… It remains fairly fresh and certainly not a ‘caramel bomb’. Mouth: plenty of pear eau-de-vie at first, which rather suggests youthfulness, then vanilla fudge and nougat, although things tend to fade a little as the caramel starts taking centre stage. Finish: rather like caramelised pears, really. Not very long, but it does not quite vanish either. Comments: for an armagnac that feels more destined for the kitchen, this baby is more than respectable.
SGP:431 - 78 points.

Domaine d’Espérance 18 yo (48.2%, OB, Bas-armagnac, lot No.4, +/-2024)

A blend of baco and folle blanche drawn from eight casks, ranging from the 1992 vintage for the oldest to 2005 for the youngest. Colour: deep gold. Nose: rather firm yet floral at the same time, a little bit town meeting country, or perhaps the other way round. Dandelion flowers and oranges to begin with, then sultanas and Earl Grey tea, before some nicely aged beeswax starts creeping in. Jaffa Cakes. Mouth: very good, very lively, very heavily marked by citrus fruits, right down to orange marmalade with honey. Little touches of tobacco and earth add an extra layer of sturdiness. Finish: long, with even more tobacco and earthiness. A slight peppery and salty edge right at the end. Comments: we are already entering elevated territory here, though from Espérance this hardly comes as a surprise.
SGP:551 - 88 points.

Couzard-Lasalle 20 yo 2005/2025 (49%, Chais de Darroze, Bas-armagnac, 400 bottles)

Things do become rather complicated at times with successive batches from the same lot, and sometimes we are not even entirely sure this is the correct outfit. In any case, this appears to be the latest vintage from Couzard-Lasalle, aka Lous Pibous it would seem, from the cellars of the house of Darroze. Colour: full gold. Nose: straight away on dried fruits, especially apricots, then honey-roasted fruits, again apricots, followed by Iberian ham and old plum spirit (vieille prune). A wonderfully pronounced tertiary side. Mouth: lively, greatly rustic, pleasingly raspy and rugged, with oak very much to the fore in the way the old armagnac makers used to enjoy, but that is simply part of the DNA. Slightly peppery heather honey arrives after a few moments. Finish: long, this time more dominated by bitter orange and bergamot. We do like this style. The peppers go absolutely wild in the aftertaste. Comments: not entirely far removed stylistically from the Espérance. Truly excellent.
SGP:561 - 88 points.

LaRoche-Vacquié 23 yo 2001/2026 ‘LRV’ (51.8% Grape of the Art, Haut-armagnac, cask #82, 150 bottles)

From the 2000 harvest, distilled in January 2001 from Colombard and Ugni Blanc. Haut-Armagnacs are not often encountered on their own like this, and in this case it comes from an old vineyard that had fallen into disuse before being replanted some thirty years ago. Colour: amber. Nose: popcorn, caramel, fudge, fresh praline, triple sec and even, hold on, rye? What kind of sorcery is this? With water: asparagus, artichoke and wood glue! Mouth (neat): pepper and orange liqueur, varnish, American rye whiskey, speculoos… This really is most unusual. With water: tasted blind, would we have said ‘armagnac’? Honestly, I do not think so. The varnish, the orange and a little turmeric dominate the proceedings now. Finish: long, and more peppery. Comments: the question remains whether one ought to take typicity into account when scoring a spirit, in which case this would not fare especially highly, or whether it is better simply to consider the overall impressions. We shall go with the latter option, especially since this is a whisky blog after all, is it not.
SGP:462 - 88 points.

Well, we’re taking the opportunity to try some young pot still Armagnac, whose high strength rather prevented us from tasting it first, despite its very young age. Call this a “vertical tasting with exceptions”, if you like.

Lascabanes 2019/2026 (70.7%, Le Passeur, Ténarèze, #4)

This is ugni blanc double distilled in pot stills. We rather doubt you could ever coax these strengths out of a little armagnacais column. Right then, let us hold tightly onto our seats… Colour: chardonnay. Nose: pear tart and custard cake, drizzled with a little acacia honey and served alongside a glass of very fine southern Burgundy chardonnay, indeed. It is gentle and quite astonishingly easy to nose at this strength. With water: a little touch of saponification at first, which is perfectly normal. We wait five minutes… There we go, the ripe pear has returned to centre stage. Pear tart from every grandmother in the world, with just a little pineapple and papaya in the background. Mouth (neat): buttery pear, vineyard peach and white pepper, in a trio that is simple yet perfect. We shall not insist on trying to extract anything more, and we suspect you will understand why. With water: things become rootier, very ‘pot still’, very ‘malternative’, saline, on carrots and celery, though the pear has certainly not had its final word. Nor have the little pineapple sweets. Finish: long and surprisingly balanced, really not solely about pears as one might have expected. Comments: excellent and highly coherent, rather in the manner of a very great ‘paille’ rum.
SGP:741 - 87 points.

Right then, a little independent bottler, there are more and more of them these days, and I think that’s a good sign…

Château de Bordeneuve 25 yo 2000 (48.6%, Dràm Mor, Bas-armagnac, cask #146, 300 bottles)

We had already tasted another Bordeneuve selected by Dràm Mor, very much to our liking. Colour: full gold. Nose: this is a gentle and highly aromatic armagnac, on sugared almonds, sweets, even rose petals and wild strawberries. At times there is almost a viognier and/or muscat side to it, with patchouli, lychees and violets… Yet behind this rather spectacular façade lies a firmer, more traditional backbone. Mouth: we find that same soft floral and fruity character again, though this time with more vanilla and soft liquorice, then honey and green tea, followed by pink peppercorns. Finish: fairly long yet very gentle, on white chocolate with lavender, if you happen to know such things. Peppery strawberries in the aftertaste. Comments: a true confectionery shop, a genuine sin. Excellent.
SGP:641 - 87 points.

Pouchégu 28 yo 1998/2026 (51.1%, Hontambère, Ténarèze, cask #D5, 100 bottles)

In theory, this ought to have been rustic… Colour: amber. Nose: quite the opposite in fact, with lovely furniture polish, banana cake and even proper agricole rum from a good house, before things drift a little towards conifer wood, the whole becoming increasingly dry and even terpene-like. With water: lanolin, even liquid detergent… This is becoming genuinely unusual now. Mouth (neat): very earthy and above all extremely resinous. Salmiak and fir buds, with a little orange chocolate lurking in the background. With water: bitter chocolate and fir completely take control. And when we say fir, we really mean all forms of conifers and related species. Finish: fairly long, austere and resinous. Cedarwood. Comments: this is a highly spectacular armagnac, for friends who enjoy these woody and austere styles. And we know there are quite a few of them about!
SGP:371 - 85 points.

Pinole 1986/2026 (45.4%, Authentic Spirits, Bas-armagnac)

Pure baco this time, from a very small producer in Hontanx. A little bird told me that here is a little insider joke going around claiming that this lovely armagnac is missing a letter in its name, but do not go looking for it, it is rather inelegant anyway and entirely untranslatable. Phew, probably for the best. Colour: deep amber. Nose: and here come the varnishes, the glues, the coffee beans, the chocolate, the pine needles, the damp earth, the mushrooms, all things we adore enormously and that make you vibrate in tune with Mother Earth (eh?) Mouth: there you are, you can feel the wood and the passing of time, in a balance that is rather rare. Fir bud liqueur, morels, bitter orange, prunes forgotten in a tin jar since the last century, same story with Corinth raisins… Finish: long, resinous, yet balanced. Mint chocolate, After Eights… Comments: always hovering slightly near the edge but staying on the right side all the way through, and for that alone this is superb.
SGP:561 - 89 points.

Bourdilet 46 yo 1979/2026 (49.5%, Amateur Spirit, Ténarèze)

Ugni blanc once again, this time again from an estate in Condom in the Gers. This range is selected by several enthusiasts and while one individual, let us say ourselves, may occasionally get things wrong, it is far less common when a whole group of genuinely educated amateurs is involved. Besides, we have just noticed that our friend Steve U. from the USA was part of the panel, and for us that is more than enough. Cheers Steve. Colour: orange amber. Nose: bitter oranges and kumquats are enthroned here, wrapped in beeswax and nutmeg. Spice blends follow, ras el hanout, allspice and so forth, yet always with softness. It is still a 46-year-old after all. Mouth: tremendous vigour yet a perfect balance between resins, woods and citrus fruits. The three elements keep each other perfectly poised, rather like acrobats in the Peking Circus. Well, you see what we mean. Finish: long, with a dominance of slightly spicy wax that goes on and on and on and on… before eventually fanning out towards coffee, chocolate, fir and bark. Comments: tremendous balance, we really must insist upon that, though that only makes the selectors all the more deserving of praise. It is not often that such equilibrium survives at these ages. And this was not partially matured in demijohns either, was it.
SGP:461 - 90 points.

La Poste 1976/2026 (47.4%, Le Passeur, Ténarèze, cask #157)

Ugni blanc here. We shall have had quite a lot of Ténarèze this time around, and we are certainly not complaining about that. Domaine de la Poste was an old coaching inn where the owner produced armagnac between 1970 and 1990 without ever selling a single litre. These are the stocks now emerging little by little, thanks to true enthusiasts such as Romain ‘Le Passeur’. Such a typically armagnacqy story! Just imagine this happening on, say, Islay? Colour: red amber. Nose: a secretive nose, on some cake made to a secret recipe involving honey, candied and dried fruits, especially dried pears, alongside floral syrups and liqueurs. A little pear-and-absinthe duo tap-dances away in the background. There is also a highly amusing amontillado side, though naturally there is not a drop of sherry involved. Mouth: livelier and even brighter than expected, almost lemony at times, but above all with utterly divine notes of verbena and angelica. Tremendous freshness, especially considering this was distilled back in the days of Fleetwood Mac Mark II’s glory. Or was it Mark III? Mostly Stevie Nicks anyway, okay. Finish: long, lively, even fresher still, frankly this was unexpected. Superb citrus fruits, followed by peppery tobacco as a signature. Comments: it simply keeps rising higher and higher, and that is what the very best spirits tend to do.
SGP:651 - 91 points.

One last little one, because we simply couldn’t overlook the 1960s, could we?

Castex 1969/2025 (43.1%, Malternative Belgium, Bas-armagnac, 60 bottles)

According to the label, this came from a demijohn. That said, the transfer from cask to demijohn only took place in 2023, so we shall let you work out the age yourselves… Indeed, at least fifty-three years old. In short, a youngster. Right then, let us put some Jeff Beck on the stereo… While not forgetting that Castex was also the surname of one of the innumerable prime ministers we have had in France over recent years. A decent fellow, though he did not exactly leave an indelible mark, being far too honest for that. Colour: mahogany. Nose: a soup of stewed fruits dominated by fermented prunes, rather in the style of umeshu, and varnishes, before resinous notes and cigars begin to emerge. It is extremely beautiful, somewhere in the realm of a very great old Port or Madeira. Mouth: oh, this has become entirely tertiary now, with dried meats, malt, malt indeed, tar, forgotten herbal liqueurs, and quite simply an unmistakably glutamate-like side. We seem to recall having tasted some very, very old Cuban rums that had drifted in a similar direction. Finish: long, candied, tertiary, curiously fermentary, somewhere between hoisin sauce and Maggi, perhaps even sauce Périgourdine. Chocolate truffles. Comments: the exact opposite of Le Passeur’s La Poste ’76, yet opposites attract, as Paula Abdul once revealed. Though we are not entirely certain you would identify this as armagnac in a blind tasting.
SGP:651 - 91 points.

Check the index of all armagnacs we've tasted