The French Spirits Forum- Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados

[DeepCover]

I lost my grandmother to COVID this morning. I decided to have a pour of Delord 25 and recall all the great memories I had with her. I couldn’t have asked for a better grandmother. 

[Hatchertiger]

1 hour ago, DeepCover said:

I lost my grandmother to COVID this morning. I decided to have a pour of Delord 25 and recall all the great memories I had with her. I couldn’t have asked for a better grandmother. 

 

May her soul rest in peace + So special that you took the time to honor her that way.

[flahute]

1 hour ago, DeepCover said:

I lost my grandmother to COVID this morning. I decided to have a pour of Delord 25 and recall all the great memories I had with her. I couldn’t have asked for a better grandmother. 

Damn. So sorry man.

[Paddy]

3 hours ago, DeepCover said:

I lost my grandmother to COVID this morning. I decided to have a pour of Delord 25 and recall all the great memories I had with her. I couldn’t have asked for a better grandmother. 

My deepest condolences to you and yours.

[Phil T]

10 hours ago, DeepCover said:

I lost my grandmother to COVID this morning. I decided to have a pour of Delord 25 and recall all the great memories I had with her. I couldn’t have asked for a better grandmother. 

Condolences to you and your family. I will open an Armagnac this evening in her honor.

[WhiskeyBlender]

19 hours ago, DeepCover said:

I lost my grandmother to COVID this morning. I decided to have a pour of Delord 25 and recall all the great memories I had with her. I couldn’t have asked for a better grandmother. 

You and your family have my condolences, @DeepCover, I'm so sorry. I will drink some Delord 25 this evening in her honor and in solidarity with you in your loss. 

[EarthQuake]

On 12/19/2020 at 4:53 PM, WhiskeyBlender said:

@Guss West, wow, if you can snag a bottle of the Darroze LGA 40 year for $180, by all means, grab it!!!! Or......buy it and send it to me, I'll be happy to drink it for you! 

 

In all seriousness, I think you'll enjoy doing a vertical tasting with those bottles, if you haven't already done so. Interestingly enough, I've found that many people who live in the Armagnac region or who are themselves producers there tend to favor younger Armagnacs (not necessarily the Darroze, just younger Armagnacs in general). They've told me that they really like the fact that the fruit shows through so much more. Thus, the LGA 8 and 12 year might not have the kind of complexity that the 20+ will have, but they sure make great daily drinkers!

 

If you can ever find the Darroze LGA 50 and 60 year old bottlings, grab those up as well. I personally think that's one of the best deals out there for the money. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy

 

This doesn't surprise me. I've found that I tend to really enjoy single vintages in the 12-20 year range. Over 30 the oak can start to get a bit overbearing (and I like oak). When I shopped for Armagnac in the past I tried to shoot for 20-30 (generally in my budget), but now I don't pay much attention to age.

 

Also Hi Nancy! I hope you had a nice Christmas.

[Guss West]

Armagnac for all occasions!  

 

In trying these SBSBSBS, I see the appeal for both the teenage and twenty-something armagnacs. 

 

Not one or the other, I'll take both.  Who am I kidding, I'll take them all!  

Going out after New Years to add the LGA 40 to the hoard.  

 

Not knowing what is each of these LGA is made from, I'm also interested in a vertical of the same producer/vintage across the decades.  Add Gascony to the bucket list.   

 

[beasled]

On 12/29/2020 at 12:51 AM, DeepCover said:

I lost my grandmother to COVID this morning. I decided to have a pour of Delord 25 and recall all the great memories I had with her. I couldn’t have asked for a better grandmother. 

 

Very sorry to hear that, condolences to you and your family. 

[Phil T]

I opened this up early last week to toast a dear family friend who had passed away due to covid.  An outstanding person needs to be toasted with an outstanding pour! Godspeed Tom, we will miss you immensely. 

[WhiskeyBlender]

On 1/17/2021 at 7:23 AM, Phil T said:

I opened this up early last week to toast a dear family friend who had passed away due to covid.  An outstanding person needs to be toasted with an outstanding pour! Godspeed Tom, we will miss you immensely. 

@Phil T, while I'm deeply sorry about the loss of your friend to Covid, I must say that is one outstanding pour with which to honor him! 

[onpch1]

Hey Nancy, 

I've been lurking in the background trying to up my knowledge of Armagnac (and Cognac). Thanks to your efforts here and in other forums, I've been moving along very nicely. And just as I was getting the hang of things a 25% tariff gets slapped on our bottles... How real is this tariff? I come from Scotch and when tariff was imposed there a little over a year ago, we all felt it within a few weeks (when the next new batch of shipments came in). I know D&M jumped the gun and raised their brandy prices few weeks prior to the actual start date. But everywhere else, K&L, Bitters (yeah, I live in CA), etc, nothing seem to have changed. Is this the calm before the storm?

[WhiskeyBlender]

Hey Friends, 

 

Sorry that I've gone AWOL recently. In addition to being pretty busy with work and whiskey blending, I've had some health challenges lately that have kept me off of SB for a while, which have also kept me from being present for normal everyday life. Hopefully I'll be back to my usual self before too long. 

 

At any rate, just wanted to note some vintage Armagnacs I've gotten recently. I've added 4 vintage Darroze Bas Armagnacs, from 1973 to 1993, and two Chateau du Busca Ténarèse Armagnacs, from 1978 and 1988. I'll give some decent tasting notes on these soon. @onpch1, I'll get back to you as soon as I can, but I'm pretty slow at the moment. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy 

Edited March 2, 2021 by WhiskeyBlender

[fosmith]

13 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

Hey Friends, 

 

Sorry that I've gone AWOL recently. In addition to being pretty busy with work and whiskey blending, I've had some health challenges lately that have kept me off of SB for a while, which have also kept me from being present for normal everyday life. Hopefully I'll be back to my usual self before too long. 

 

At any rate, just wanted to note some vintage Armagnacs I've gotten recently. I've added 4 vintage Darroze Bas Armagnacs, from 1973 to 1993, and two Chateau du Busca Ténarèse Armagnacs, from 1978 and 1988. I'll give some decent tasting notes on these soon. @onpch1, I'll get back to you as soon as I can, but I'm pretty slow at the moment. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy 

Good to see you back Nancy.  Sorry to hear that you have had health issues. 

 

Looking forward to your review of the Busca 1978.  I bought a bottle in 2019 on your recommendation but haven't opened it yet - I know, I know.  Too many bottles, not enough time... 

 

On the plus side, I'm really enjoying a bottle of 1998 Cardinat.  Big, rich and powerful - not elegant or complex by any means but just delicious. 

[onpch1]

On 3/1/2021 at 5:17 PM, WhiskeyBlender said:

Hey Friends, 

 

Sorry that I've gone AWOL recently. In addition to being pretty busy with work and whiskey blending, I've had some health challenges lately that have kept me off of SB for a while, which have also kept me from being present for normal everyday life. Hopefully I'll be back to my usual self before too long. 

 

At any rate, just wanted to note some vintage Armagnacs I've gotten recently. I've added 4 vintage Darroze Bas Armagnacs, from 1973 to 1993, and two Chateau du Busca Ténarèse Armagnacs, from 1978 and 1988. I'll give some decent tasting notes on these soon. @onpch1, I'll get back to you as soon as I can, but I'm pretty slow at the moment. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy 

I hope you're feeling better Nancy. I guess with the tariff suspension news we have one less concern! Yay! Here's my recent Darroze picks. L to R, two Couzard-Lassalles, LGA and Martin (botl'd 2016)-  fig, hazelnut ,very lovely.

[berto]

First bottle of Calvados should show up today.  In typical fashion I went big and I'm starting with Camut 12yr.  Looking forward to another rabbit hole I can obsess over. 

[ratcheer]

Well, this isn't French, but this topic looks like as close as I'm going to get.

 

Last evening, I has a pour of Cardanal Mendoza Brandy de Jerez. It was delicious, fairly similar to my favorite Cognac. It had a full, almost raisiny brandy flavor and a buttery mouthfeel. I would recommend it.

[AndyD]

Tried this recently and blew my mind.  Worth a try for any Armagnac fans. 
 

https://m.klwines.com/p/i?i=1501919&searchId=1c66747d-f654-48a4-8e17-5d2057d9b791&searchServiceName=klwines-prod-productsearch&searchRank=1

[B.B. Babington]

Courvoisier Avant-Garde in collaboration with Fred Noe.  Cognac sent to Kentuckey for American Oak Finish.  How's that for a twist.  Quite good if you like cognac.  It's like regular courvoisier with american twist, more zest and tang. 

[HoustonNit]

On 3/1/2021 at 7:17 PM, WhiskeyBlender said:

Hey Friends, 

 

Sorry that I've gone AWOL recently. In addition to being pretty busy with work and whiskey blending, I've had some health challenges lately that have kept me off of SB for a while, which have also kept me from being present for normal everyday life. Hopefully I'll be back to my usual self before too long. 

 

At any rate, just wanted to note some vintage Armagnacs I've gotten recently. I've added 4 vintage Darroze Bas Armagnacs, from 1973 to 1993, and two Chateau du Busca Ténarèse Armagnacs, from 1978 and 1988. I'll give some decent tasting notes on these soon. @onpch1, I'll get back to you as soon as I can, but I'm pretty slow at the moment. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy 

Nancy hope you’re doing better.

 

I had my annual pour of the birthday year Darroze.

 

Wife made an Italian rum cake.

 

 

[DeepCover]

I picked this one up from one of the local haunts. I’ve never had 100% baco before.

 

[Yamazaki82]

On 9/24/2020 at 10:58 PM, WhiskeyBlender said:

Hi @Yamazaki82, and a warm welcome to the forum! 

 

I'm currently out of town right now, but I can give you some feedback on those Darroze Chateau de Gaube bottlings when I get back home in a few days. 

 

Cheers,

Nancy

Hi. Any feedback on Chateau de Gaube vintages (1966 vs 1970/71) and are there any noticeable differences?

 

Baco is predominant variety when it comes to Gaube domaine, but I heard that some vintages are ugni blanc. 

[B.B. Babington]

Picked up Ferrand 10 Generations today.  92 proof.  I was very disappointed with a mid-priced Ferrand couple years ago so avoided Ferrand.  Found this at good price so went for it, and glad I did.  This is great for the money.  Limousin really comes through.  Some cognac drinkers might think it too astringent, that's because they've not had wide variety including age.  This doesn't have complexity like get from age, but it does have way more complexity than youngin's like my Courvoisier 12 year old.  Typical cognac not known for aftertaste.  This has mild lingering aftertaste, sweet version of the foretaste.  Very atypical of me, I'm sticking with this for rest of night.  And yes, I'll get 2 or 3 more bottles tomorrow.

[WhiskeyBlender]

On 4/17/2021 at 10:34 AM, HoustonNit said:

Nancy hope you’re doing better.

 

I had my annual pour of the birthday year Darroze.

 

Wife made an Italian rum cake.

 

 

@HoustonNit, I'm so sorry I'm just now seeing this. I can't even begin to tell you just how chartreuse I am with envy for both your Italian rum birthday cake and that bottle of Darroze! Hope you had a great b-day my friend. Errr.....with those kind of goodies, please invite me to the party next year! 

 

Cheers,

Nancy

Edited May 5, 2021 by WhiskeyBlender

[DeepCover]

As I’ve changed jobs, one of my customers sent me a text last week saying, “I left you a gift at the front desk of the 4 Seasons”. On Monday I walked across the street from my office to pick my gift up, not knowing what that might be. It was a bottle of Delord 25, thanking me for all I had done to support his business. I’m enjoying it now. Cheers to good friends and kind, generous people.