Adelphi 25yo 1994/2021

Adelphi 25yo 1994/2021

Brandy: Armagnac 

From: Bas Armagnac

House: Unknown

Style: Single distillery, single vintage 

Colour: Dark amber

ABV: 55%

N: Toffee apples, cornflakes, vanilla, raisins, cherry brandy. With water, raisins, brown paper, red grapes. 

M: Medium body, thickens, hot, tingly. 

T: Bitter sweet. Cherry brandy, cornflakes, orange peel, toffee apples, butterscotch, raisins. With water, toffee apples, brown paper, red grapes, black pepper. 

F: Medium. Butterscotch, coffee, orange peel, vanilla.

Comments:

Cask AM2/20. Unknown armagnac, bottled by Adelphi, a bottler that normally bottles whiskies. It’s cask strength, which was what drew me to it. You don’t normally get brandies at above 42% in strength. 

It’s sweet and luscious, lots of toffee apples and cherries. It’s almost Calvados like at cask strength, with some heavy cereal notes. With water it opens up, becoming more like Armagnac. It fades nicely to a spicy finish. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot.  

Domaine des Cassagnoles 5yo

Domaine des Cassagnoles 5yo

Brandy: Armagnac

From: Ténarèze

House: Domaine des Cassagnoles

Style: Single distillery

Colour: Red brown

ABV: 41%

N: Chocolate cake, white grapes, salt caramel. 

M: Medium body, clingy, mouth coating. 

T: Sweet. Limes, green tea, prunes, apricots. 

F: Medium. Lime peel, orange blossom. 

Comments:

Another old tasting note, this one from around mid 2008. It’s probably the first armagnac I ever tasted, and you can probably tell by the simplicity of the tasting notes. 

I thought it had a great nose, very chocolatey, which is probably how I perceived notes of pruneaux in those days. On the tongue, I found it less sweet, and probably more floral. 

Verdict:

I like this. 

 

Marquis de Puységur Napoleon

Marquis de Puységur Napoleon

Brandy: Armagnac

From: Bas Armagnac

House: Cave Coopérative de Villeneuve de Marsan 

Style: Blend

Colour: Orange amber

ABV: 40%

N: Orange peel, lemons, raisins, black pepper, hints of roses. 

M: Medium body, astringent, tingly. 

T: Sweet sour. Lemons, raisins, black pepper, limes, roses, hints of black tea. 

F: Long. Black tea, black pepper, lemons, hints of roses. 

Comments: 

An old tasting note. Haven’t had any for a while. I had this maybe 12 or 13 years ago, and I remember it as being very spicy and lovely. I had it after a large multi course meal, although I can’t quite remember where. It was lovely. I do remember craving an Islay whisky right after though. 

Verdict:

I like this. 

Baron de Sigognac XO Platinum

Baron de Sigognac XO Platinum

Brandy: Armagnac

From: Bas Armagnac

House: Baron de Sigognac 

Style: Blend

Colour: Amber gold

ABV: 40%

N: Leather, prunes, tobacco leaf, vanilla ice cream, hints of farmyard. 

M: Light body, thickens slightly, tingly, warm. 

T: Sweet. Black tea, prunes, tobacco leaf, vanilla ice cream, candied oranges, hints of coffee. 

F: Short. Black tea, candied oranges, coffee, walnut skins, hints of farmyard. 

Comments:

I’ve not had too many from this negociant before, but it’s a popular house. This is a little bit of a premium version, and it’s that little bit more complex. Lots of fruit, sure, with the standard pruneaux notes, but also a lot of savoury, even slightly wild ‘smelly’ notes. Not too sweet either, always a plus in my book. 

Verdict:

I like this. 

Chateau de Laubade 1992

Chateau de Laubade 1992

Brandy: Armagnac
Region: Bas Armagnac
House: Chateau de Laubade
Style: Single distillery, single vintage
Colour: Amber red
ABV: 40%

N: Raisins, blueberries, strawberries, honey, peaches, vanilla, hints of cinnamon.

M: Light body, astringent, hot, thickens.

T: Sweet sour. Raisins, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, honey, orange peel.

F: Medium. Walnuts, camphor, honey, blueberries.

Comments:

This is a blast from the past - I tasted this armagnac on 21 October 2009, somewhere. No, I can't quite remember where either, it was probably as a digestif in a restaurant. It was probably the first vintage armagnac I'd ever had, and I clearly found it incredibly fruity. Lots of sweet estery notes, although not much of that classic armagnac pruneaux notes.

I noted at the time that it didn't share many characteristics with the previous Chateau de Laubade (age statement only, no vintage) that I'd had, save for a wave of orange peel. I'm not sure my palate has advanced since then - I may now be able to distinguish between armagnac and cognac (mostly) but I still could not tell the difference between distilleries or producers. To be honest, it's still hit and miss with whisky.

Verdict:

I like this.

Comte de Ferragut 3 Star

Comte de Ferragut 3 Star

Brandy: Armagnac
From: ?
House: Comte de Ferragut
Style: Blend
Colour: Amber
ABV: 40%

N: Butterscotch, vanilla, caramel, hints of chocolate

T: Medium body, loosens slightly, slippery, warm

F: Sweet. Raisins, vanilla, butter, cocoa, peach jam.

T: Short. Cocoa, raisins, butterscotch, hints of black tea.

Comments:

This armagnac is from a mystery house. Much googling and searching in reference books only leads me to sale listings, and a reference on the famous Whiskyfun website that says, in effect, "never heard of this house". It's a 3 star, so a VS in old money, rather young, probably under 4 years old.

The brandy is not bad per se, it's quite substantial for young spirit. There's plenty of chocolate, almost malty chocolate, alongside plenty of fruit, including some very interesting notes of peach jam. I quite enjoyed this.

Verdict:

I like this.

Chateau de Laubade XO 15yo

Chateau de Laubade XO 15yo

Brandy: Armagnac
From: Bas Armagnac
House: Chateau de Laubade
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber red
ABV: 40%

N: Orange peel, soy sauce, strawberries, black pepper, roast ham, menthol.

M: Light body, thickens in the mouth, slightly oily.

T: Sweet sour. Orange peel, strawberries, menthol, marmalade.

F: Medium. Strawberries, roses.

Comments:

I drank this brandy a decade ago. I don't know exactly where, but it was probably a restaurant somewhere in London. My tasting notes are slightly odd:

" Very salty and strong in the nose, with a sharp bite of menthol. Once tasted however, this armagnac becomes a different creature - sweet on the tongue, with a little teasing hints of mint as a reminder of the robust, salty, tangy nose. The finish is also quite gentle, although it would be hard to top that first whiff from the lip of the glass!"

It's interesting to see how much my palate has changed. I feel I understand layers better, and I have more patience, simply sipping and letting the flavours develop in my mouth. It would be interesting to taste this brandy again to see what I would record, but I believe it has been discontinued, more's the pity.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Chateau de Lacquy 12yo

Chateau de Lacquy 12yo

Brandy: Armagnac
From: Bas Armagnac
House: Chateau de Lacquy
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber brown
ABV: 40%

N: milk, raisins, vanilla, desiccated coconut, hints of damson jam.

M: Light body, loose, airy, astringent.

T: Sweet sour. Raisins, vanilla, damson jam, prune juice, hints of ume, hints of violets.

F: Short. Black tea, cocoa powder, prune juice, damson jam, hints of fresh baked bread.

Comments:

Right, this is my third Chateau de Lacquy, and I believe that I can start to discern the house character. There's something jammy, something savoury (here it manifests as desiccated coconut, and maybe a little bit of Japanese ume, or salted plum), alongside the usual floral, prune notes one can find in most armagnacs. This expression also has something bitter though, like dark chocolate, and black tea, compared to the other two I've tasted.

So how many expressions does one need to taste before one knows a distilery, or a house? I think the answer is, a lot. A good producer will be able to make many subtly different, interesting expressions, whilst retaining most of the house character. On average, for whisky, I reckon I need to taste about 8 to 10 expressions before I learn to recognise the distillery character. For brandy though, most houses don't produce that many expressions!

Verdict:

I like this.

Armagnac Castarede 1968

Armagnac Castarede 1968

Brandy: Armagnac
From: Bas Armagnac
House: Castarede
Style: Single vintage
Colour: Amber gold
ABV: 40%

N: Fresh baked bread, toast, honey, ink, prunes, orange zest, hints of apples.

M: Light body, loose, airy, slightly sticky.

T: Bitter sweet. Honey, prunes, fresh baked bread, vanilla ice cream, black tea, hints of apples.

F: Medium. Apples, vanilla ice cream, prunes, fresh baked bread, hints of ink.

Comments:

When I decided to have an armagnac, I was looking for something rich and sweet, that would smack me in the mouth and kill my palate for the evening. Oh, a 1968 you say? Old and rich, exactly right.

Only, it wasn't really. I gather this negociant is not known for powerful robust armagnacs. Instead, it was gentle and complex, light, bright and airy. It was mostly cereally, with huge layers of bread and toast, with the prune notes relegated to the background. And on the tongue, a little surprise - creamy vanilla ice cream.

I would say it isn't a recent bottle, this armagnac. The bottle and label styles look older, rougher than the current branding. At a pinch I would say early 2000s or even late 90s. The rusticity in the marketing was popular back then, and there isn't a great deal of old bottle effect. I've had to go on a little detective search, and in doing so realised how much I've come to rely on the whisky databases when I'm drinking whisky, and how little information there is on brandy in comparison.

Verdict:

I like this.

Marquis de Puysegur 1966

Marquis de Puysegur 1966

Brandy: Armagnac
From: Gerland
House: Cave Cooperative de Villeneuve de Marsan
Style: Single vintage
Colour: Pale amber
ABV: 40%

N: White pepper, chocolate, raspberry jam, orange peel.

M: Medium body, watery, smooth

T: Sweet sour. Butter, oranges, oak, white pepper, cinnamon, cherries.

F: Medium, astringent, orange peel, peanuts.

Comments:

This is another blast from the past, an old tasting note that I wrote about 10 years ago. At that time I was a fairly green spirits drinker, and this was the oldest spirit I'd ever tasted up to that point. I reckon it's still top 10 oldest, maybe even top 5. At the time, I remember thinking it was the mutt's nuts, but with hindsight it was perhaps less impressive than its age would suggest.

It's from a Cave, or a cooperative that allows growers to club together and pool wines from a particular area, then distil and raise them to make great armagnac. This marque is normally sold in the USA, and I had it in a restaurant that must have had some contacts to obtain a bottle, particularly one this old.

It was spicy and jammy and sweet, with the usual prune notes mellowing out to cherries. I did wonder about the buttery, savoury notes, perhaps more of a mouthfeel than a taste. It may have been the first time I tasted what's known as rancio. Not that I've had it that often since then.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Chateau de Lacquy "Reference" XO 15yo

Chateau de Lacquy "Reference" XO 15yo

Brandy: Armagnac
From: Bas Armagnac
House: Chateau de Lacquy
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber rose
ABV: 42%

N: Mint, prunes, Japanese ume, hints of coffee

M: Light body, slightly syrupy

T: Bitter sweet. Oaky, white grapes, white pepper, raisins, chocolate, orange peel, hints of coffee

F: Long. Honey, raisins, kiwi fruit

Comments:

I tasted this bottle in 2009, probably at a dinner party or some such occasion. With luck, I've learnt something about drinking brandy in the intervening decade. Certainly I feel my palate is a little more discerning.

Anyway, I remember this brandy as being savoury, herbal, even slightly bitter on the nose, but that dissolved into spicy raisins and chocolate on the palate. The hints of Japanese ume were distinctive, and riveting, and it's what I recalled years later when I next tasted Chateau de Lacquy. This bottle is no longer available, the XO bottlings available today are, of course, younger.

Verdict:

I like this.

Chateau de Lacquy 1947 (bottled 1970s)

Chateau de Lacquy 1947 (bottled 1970s)

Brandy: Armagnac
From: Bas Armagnac
House: Chateau de Lacquy
Style: Single distillery, single vintage
Colour: Amber red
ABV: 44%

N: Malted milk, leather, prunes, coffee, butterscotch

M: Medium body, slippery, loosens, cool

T: Sweet salty. Prunes, leather, sea salt, Japanese ume, coffee, jasmine tea, lemon juice

F: Long. Raisins, prunes, Japanese ume, coffee, hints of chocolate

Comments:

Sometimes, I get very, very lucky. There was a smidgen of this spirit available at a reasonable price. It's the oldest spirit I have ever tasted, and what a privilege it was!

The classic prune notes of Armagnac stand out, of course, but it's married to old leather and coffee, and heaps of complex savoury notes. The leather and coffee don't have the slight cheesiness of what one might call rancio, instead, they're gentle, complementing the harder to analyse savoury notes. Those come in the second layer of flavour, intensifying and almost replacing the prune notes. These are a combination of sea salt, some floral jasmine, and salty preserved Japanese plum, or ume.

The last was familiar. I've had Chateau de Lacquy before, and I'll dig out that old tasting note and republish it here.

Verdict:

Magnificent.

Chateau de Busca XO No. 1 Armagnac

Chateau de Busca XO No 1 Armagnac

Brandy: Armagnac
From: Tenareze, France
House: Chateau de Busca-Maniban
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber
ABV: 40%

N: Red grapes, chocolate, iron filings, orange blossom, sandalwood, hints of prunes

M: Medium body, slippery, astringent, tingly

T: Bitter sweet. Chocolate, prunes, orange blossom, marmalade, cloves, sandalwood, black coffee, hints of cucumber

F: Long. Prunes, marmalade, black coffee, black tea.

Comments:

From a bottle I had in my cupboard since 2010. This is robust and flavourful, but quite variable. Left for 10 minutes, the prune flavour note intensified, and floral woody elements started to emerge. There's a tannic feel on the tongue that intensifies in the finish. I really enjoyed this.

Verdict:

I like this a lot