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The French Spirits Forum- Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados


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It's been a while nice to see you back!


Thanks, Kevin, it’s good to be back. Life got pretty busy for a while but I was definitely missing SB.
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  • 4 weeks later...

My brother is in the process of moving back to this side of the Hudson River, I stopped by his new place and very much enjoyed a pour from this bottle, which I gifted him for his 40th last year.  

y4mOJ0HvSJQYGgqlaTNHdJXKTGL6WtCibbfXJXDJ

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Cracked these two siblings, one just about half my age, the other a few years older than me, both quite enjoyable. Loudly enjoying After the Gold Rush on the turntable as a compliment. 

y4mXHZ2s2o_j12kd9WOo4ZL5QkpNdE7QOs1Yc1Sm

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On 11/27/2019 at 9:28 PM, kevinbrink said:

My brother is in the process of moving back to this side of the Hudson River, I stopped by his new place and very much enjoyed a pour from this bottle, which I gifted him for his 40th last year.  

y4mOJ0HvSJQYGgqlaTNHdJXKTGL6WtCibbfXJXDJ

@kevinbrink, wow, I'm surprised that you found a bottle of Chateau du Busca!!!! I think somewhere else on this forum I mentioned that the owner, Mme. Florence de Ferron, is the last surviving member of the famous Seigneurs de Maniban family in Gascony. They had been making Armagnac for at least 370 years. After she retired from practicing law in Paris, she decided to sell the property, including all of her Armagnac stock. It's been on the market for a few years now. 

 

If you can find any more of it, I would highly recommend buying it. In fact, if you know of more of it, I'd like to buy some of it too! I bought a bunch of bottles of the 1976 from her personally about 4 or 5 years ago, before I realized that she was selling the domain. It's unquestionably the best Tenareze Armagnac that I've ever had. 

 

Cheers, and happyThanksgiving and imbibing! 

Nancy

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8 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

@kevinbrink, wow, I'm surprised that you found a bottle of Chateau du Busca!!!! I think somewhere else on this forum I mentioned that the owner, Mme. Florence de Ferron, is the last surviving member of the famous Seigneurs de Maniban family in Gascony. They had been making Armagnac for at least 370 years. After she retired from practicing law in Paris, she decided to sell the property, including all of her Armagnac stock. It's been on the market for a few years now. 

 

If you can find any more of it, I would highly recommend buying it. In fact, if you know of more of it, I'd like to buy some of it too! I bought a bunch of bottles of the 1976 from her personally about 4 or 5 years ago, before I realized that she was selling the domain. It's unquestionably the best Tenareze Armagnac that I've ever had. 

 

Cheers, and happyThanksgiving and imbibing! 

Nancy

Hey Nancy, I think we actually spoke about this bottle before I picked it up but I could of course be mistaken, interestingly Total Wine sells it as a Spirits Direct so you may have luck there I think my local store sold out what they had but it seems there are still bottles scattered around:

https://www.totalwine.com/search/all?text=busca+armagnac&tab=fullcatalog

 

Out of curiosity what do you know about the cooperage that was used there? It was an enjoyable pour for certain, would be interested to pick up another bottle for myself given the opportunity. 

 

After a quick look on Winesearcher  it looks like Mission has quite a few vintages at much better prices, they don't ship my way anymore but I'd guess it's an option for you:

https://www.missionliquor.com/search?q=busca

 

Cheers!

Edited by kevinbrink
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@WhiskeyBlender Nancy, there are a few more CA based shops that carry Busca, which will probably ship to you.

 

https://www.missionliquor.com/search?q=chateua+du+busca (oh looks like Keven already beat me to this +1 to winesearcher)

 

https://www.glendaleliquor.com/search.php?search_query=du busca&section=product

 

https://remedyliquor.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=du+busca

Edited by EarthQuake
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On 11/30/2019 at 9:37 PM, kevinbrink said:

Hey Nancy, I think we actually spoke about this bottle before I picked it up but I could of course be mistaken, interestingly Total Wine sells it as a Spirits Direct so you may have luck there I think my local store sold out what they had but it seems there are still bottles scattered around:

https://www.totalwine.com/search/all?text=busca+armagnac&tab=fullcatalog

 

Out of curiosity what do you know about the cooperage that was used there? It was an enjoyable pour for certain, would be interested to pick up another bottle for myself given the opportunity. 

 

After a quick look on Winesearcher  it looks like Mission has quite a few vintages at much better prices, they don't ship my way anymore but I'd guess it's an option for you:

https://www.missionliquor.com/search?q=busca

 

Cheers!

Hey Kevin @kevinbrink, just wanted to acknowledge that I saw this post and your questions about the cooperage. I'll be flying cross-country from FL back home to CA today and I'm headed to the airport right now, so I won't get a chance to answer it today. However, I'll get back to you ASAP on it. Also, many thanks for pointing out some stores that still have Ch. du Busca! I'll cerainly check those out. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy

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$200 for the 1975...Would this be a good pickup?

 

They also have the 1978 for $250.

 

 

Screenshot_2019-12-04-13-21-12.jpg

Edited by Bbstout
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25 minutes ago, Bbstout said:

$200 for the 1975...Would this be a good pickup?

 

They also have the 1978 for $250.

 

 

Screenshot_2019-12-04-13-21-12.jpg

I think I paid $170ish for the 1978 but that was a year ago. They are good bottles but you may be able to get them shipped to you for cheaper.

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I got the 1988 vintage from Total Wine for $120 and it’s a great pour. I’m on my second bottle. 

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This is the second bottle of armagnac I've ever owned or opened and it is terrific. May have to get a few more.

20191210_204616.jpg

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This is the second bottle of armagnac I've ever owned or opened and it is terrific. May have to get a few more.
20191210_204616.thumb.jpg.72b8a0c72f6bf7596800cb8bf83daf79.jpg



Are you considering getting more of the same, or trying a different domaine?

I just finished off this bottle of 1985 Baraillon with a large pour. This was the second iteration that K&L did as an exclusive, bottled in 2018 at 33 years in the barrel. The first was in 2013 or so and I never snagged a bottle.

This was a good bottle but in the middle of the pack of Armagnacs K&L has bottled over the years and probably near the bottom of the Baraillons they’ve done. I wish I could compare it to the original ‘85 they bottled, my understating is it was very good. Just goes to show that more age isn’t necessarily better.

All that said, this is still a solid B on the A-F scale. It builds on itself very well, each successive sip somehow accentuating the most positive flavors left over from the last. Leather, tobacco, dried sweet plums and figs....it’s nice to live in a time when even the 40th percentile of barrel picks is still pretty damn good.
IMG_2536.jpg
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10 hours ago, Kpiz said:

 

 


Are you considering getting more of the same, or trying a different domaine?

I just finished off this bottle of 1985 Baraillon with a large pour. This was the second iteration that K&L did as an exclusive, bottled in 2018 at 33 years in the barrel. The first was in 2013 or so and I never snagged a bottle.

This was a good bottle but in the middle of the pack of Armagnacs K&L has bottled over the years and probably near the bottom of the Baraillons they’ve done. I wish I could compare it to the original ‘85 they bottled, my understating is it was very good. Just goes to show that more age isn’t necessarily better.

All that said, this is still a solid B on the A-F scale. It builds on itself very well, each successive sip somehow accentuating the most positive flavors left over from the last. Leather, tobacco, dried sweet plums and figs....it’s nice to live in a time when even the 40th percentile of barrel picks is still pretty damn good.
IMG_2536.jpg

 

 


Well the one I have is still available at under £80, which for the proof and age seems reasonable. It'd be nice to try other domaines but this was a stab in the dark so where to head next is a mystery! 

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I'm working in TX this week, and this morning I got to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I got to taste a sample of an 1835 Fin Bois Cognac. It had apparently been taken from the cask and went into a demijohn (i.e., carboy) around the turn of the 19th century. It's wild to imagine how much in the world has changed in 184 years since this Cognac was distilled! 

 

The nose and palate had notes of old cellar, boysenberry, prune, and oxidized notes, with a mid-length finish. 

IMG_3153.jpg

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I'm working in TX this week, and this morning I got to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I got to taste a sample of an 1835 Fin Bois Cognac. It had apparently been taken from the cask and went into a demijohn (i.e., carboy) around the turn of the 19th century. It's wild to imagine how much in the world has changed in 184 years since this Cognac was distilled! 
 
The nose and palate had notes of old cellar, boysenberry, prune, and oxidized notes, with a mid-length finish. 
IMG_3153.thumb.jpg.9bd6d88aba178d1265e527328d850e37.jpg


Wow truly amazing. Question what year was this bottled? Any idea how many bottles, what type of barrel? Truly fascinating and an awesome experience.
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3 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

I'm working in TX this week, and this morning I got to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I got to taste a sample of an 1835 Fin Bois Cognac. It had apparently been taken from the cask and went into a demijohn (i.e., carboy) around the turn of the 19th century. It's wild to imagine how much in the world has changed in 184 years since this Cognac was distilled! 

 

The nose and palate had notes of old cellar, boysenberry, prune, and oxidized notes, with a mid-length finish. 

IMG_3153.jpg

Whoa............that's amazing.

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I'm working in TX this week, and this morning I got to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I got to taste a sample of an 1835 Fin Bois Cognac. It had apparently been taken from the cask and went into a demijohn (i.e., carboy) around the turn of the 19th century. It's wild to imagine how much in the world has changed in 184 years since this Cognac was distilled! 
 
The nose and palate had notes of old cellar, boysenberry, prune, and oxidized notes, with a mid-length finish. 
IMG_3153.thumb.jpg.9bd6d88aba178d1265e527328d850e37.jpg


Wow. Any idea which grape varietals they would have been growing then, since it is well before the phylloxera epidemic? Not sure if they grew Folle Blanche in those parts.
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I opened up a bottle of one of the three new L’Encantada casks that just arrived at K&L. This is the 1988 Le Frêche and it is excellent. I’ll post some tasting notes once I spend a little more time with it.

IMG_2541.jpg

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Tasting a prior K&L Domaine Lous Pibous selection (cask #188) against their newest Pibous, #146. The 188 has a darker profile overall, more damp oak and blackberry jam whereas the 146 has more of a tart raspberry jam note to contrast the oak and earthy flavors. Both are excellent.

IMG_2548.jpg

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On 12/14/2019 at 7:15 PM, Kpiz said:

 


Wow. Any idea which grape varietals they would have been growing then, since it is well before the phylloxera epidemic? Not sure if they grew Folle Blanche in those parts.

 

Sorry I'm so late on the draw, @Kpiz. Yes, I'm pretty sure this would have been Folle Blanche at that time. 

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2020 is my year of armagnac. 

 

I'm a road warrior and as such will be hunting all over the east coast while traveling for The Man. 

 

Welcome any recommendations on specialty shops to find vintage armagnac.

 

So far, it has been a tall order for my local bottle shops.

 

Thank you!  

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purchased my first Armagnac recently.  And yes I hit a large round number a couple of weeks ago.

 

 

IMG_2343.JPG

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On 11/27/2019 at 9:28 PM, kevinbrink said:

My brother is in the process of moving back to this side of the Hudson River, I stopped by his new place and very much enjoyed a pour from this bottle, which I gifted him for his 40th last year.  

y4mOJ0HvSJQYGgqlaTNHdJXKTGL6WtCibbfXJXDJ

I got a chance to try this bottle at a Seattle restaurant that was doing an “even-Steven pour” promotion, where I paid what they paid for it. 
 

I was blown away, and (I think) I would happily pick up a bottle if I knew where to find Armagnacs in Seattle. Cheers!

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20 hours ago, Josh_NC said:

I got a chance to try this bottle at a Seattle restaurant that was doing an “even-Steven pour” promotion, where I paid what they paid for it. 
 

I was blown away, and (I think) I would happily pick up a bottle if I knew where to find Armagnacs in Seattle. Cheers!

A little pricey but it appears these guys will ship to your state.

https://cellar.com//spirit_details/167758/busca-de-maniban-1978-armanac

My local Total Wine has it here in CA but they don't ship spirits.  If you have a TW near you, they may have it or be able to get it...

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Thanks for the suggestions from several of you here. My wife found the 1988 vintage at TW last night. It’s some pretty special stuff. 

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