The French Spirits Forum- Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados

[garbanzobean]

1 hour ago, Kpiz said:

You're right - I've always looked at the bigger list, thinking that it included all types of alcohol. That's too bad, no wonder there isn't more buzz here about K&L exclusive brandies. 

K&L's exclusive brandies are the reason I am so familiar with their shipping policies.  They also used to have access to very reasonably priced older Islay whiskies, but I think the very last round of that was 2013 or 2014.  I keep hoping they'll alter them as laws are updated, but so far that has not been the case.  

[tanstaafl2]

1 hour ago, garbanzobean said:

It is literally on this page.  It is the last sentence of the first paragraph under the heading "More Information."

 

Ah! So it is. A little annoying that the limitation is not more clearly indicated. Although as I said it doesn't make much difference to me as they don't ship to my state or anywhere close to me.

 

I have on occasion had an order sent to my hotel when I was traveling in one of those states! But that is infrequent at best. Although I will be in one for a couple of days next week...

[Kpiz]

I held a blind tasting on Friday for our whiskey club, but instead of doing whiskeys, I did 4 Armagnacs and 1 Calvados. Only two of us had had Armagnac before, and it seemed like a revelation for most of them. Unfortunately the bottles I used were ones I had open and most of them are not available anymore. The 2001 Charron was the biggest hit, with almost all of us picking it as the favorite on the night. Luckily I have one backup bottle of that one! Two of us (me and another person) chose the 1994 Pellehaut as the winner. The other person who picked it as their favorite was very disappointed that this one is no longer available, so I sent him home with the last 1/4 of the bottle. He's usually one of the most critical people at these tastings so it was pretty fun to see him get this excited about this bottle. The 1990 Jean-Bon was very good but I think a little too fruity for most folks, being as this was their first foray into brandy. The 1986 Pouchegu fared surprisingly poorly, with many people getting an off note in the finish. I still think the Pouchegu is an incredible bottle, it just was being compared to some really stiff competition. We finished the night with the Berneroy Calvados, which after the incredible lineup of Armagnacs, seemed a bit sweet and simple by comparison (but still delicious).

 

Edited June 14, 2016 by Kpiz

[NightCru]

9 hours ago, Kpiz said:

I held a blind tasting on Friday for our whiskey club, but instead of doing whiskeys, I did 4 Armagnacs and 1 Calvados. Only two of us had had Armagnac before, and it seemed like a revelation for most of them. Unfortunately the bottles I used were ones I had open and most of them are not available anymore. The 2001 Charron was the biggest hit, with almost all of us picking it as the favorite on the night. Luckily I have one backup bottle of that one! Two of us (me and another person) chose the 1994 Pellehaut as the winner. The other person who picked it as their favorite was very disappointed that this one is no longer available, so I sent him home with the last 1/4 of the bottle. He's usually one of the most critical people at these tastings so it was pretty fun to see him get this excited about this bottle. The 1990 Jean-Bon was very good but I think a little too fruity for most folks, being as this was their first foray into brandy. The 1986 Pouchegu fared surprisingly poorly, with many people getting an off note in the finish. I still think the Pouchegu is an incredible bottle, it just was being compared to some really stiff competition. We finished the night with the Berneroy Calvados, which after the incredible lineup of Armagnacs, seemed a bit sweet and simple by comparison (but still delicious).

 

 

That sounds like a really great tasting.  That is some fantastic brandy.  I'm with you on the 1994 Pellehaut, two of my favorite bottles ever were a 1994 and a 1996 Pellehaut.  Your friend is certainly lucky to be able to take that quarter bottle home.

[NightCru]

I had a pour of a 20 year old Pellehaut tonight.  It was like going home again.  I haven't had this one in a while, it was a total reminder of why I love Pellehaut so much.  Sometimes I wonder why I bother exploring other Armagnacs when the Pellehauts are so good and such a good value.

[Kpiz]

I had a pour of the K&L exclusive 2001 Chateau de la Grangerie last night. I've revisited this bottle many times and this was the closest I've come to liking it, but it's still my least favorite of the K&L exclusives I have purchased. I find it to be very perfumey.

[NightCru]

8 hours ago, Kpiz said:

I had a pour of the K&L exclusive 2001 Chateau de la Grangerie last night. I've revisited this bottle many times and this was the closest I've come to liking it, but it's still my least favorite of the K&L exclusives I have purchased. I find it to be very perfumey.

I haven't had the 2001 but I do have a bottle of the 1964 open right now and it ranks among my least favorite Armagnacs I've purchased from K&L.  It tasted thin and chemically to me.  It was drinkable but in comparison to the usual quality of K&L Armagnacs it was disappointing.  I get more enjoyment drinking it knowing that it's 50 years old than I do for it's actual flavor.

 

I have a bottle of the 1994 that I haven't opened yet.  I was hoping that the 1964 was just past it's prime but after reading your note on the 2001 I'm worried it might just be the house style.  

[Kpiz]

30 minutes ago, NightCru said:

I haven't had the 2001 but I do have a bottle of the 1964 open right now and it ranks among my least favorite Armagnacs I've purchased from K&L.  It tasted thin and chemically to me.  It was drinkable but in comparison to the usual quality of K&L Armagnacs it was disappointing.  I get more enjoyment drinking it knowing that it's 50 years old than I do for it's actual flavor.

 

I have a bottle of the 1994 that I haven't opened yet.  I was hoping that the 1964 was just past it's prime but after reading your note on the 2001 I'm worried it might just be the house style.  

Shoot, that's disappointing. I also have bottles of the 1994 and the 1964 unopened and had higher hopes for them than the 2001, but I guess I'll have to temper my expectations. Like you said, at least with the 1964 there's some fun in drinking something so old. I'll post some notes when I open those bottles.

[smokinjoe]

11 hours ago, NightCru said:

 It tasted thin and chemically to me.  It was drinkable but...

 

 

It may be a personal palate predisposition with me, but too many Armagnacs and cognacs have a "chemically" note to them, like you describe in this bottle.  I pick up a latex house paint thing that can be very off-putting.  I would like to explore this spirits space more, but seems there are too many inconsistent offerings for me to lay down some of the high prices asked.  

[garbanzobean]

37 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

 

It may be a personal palate predisposition with me, but too many Armagnacs and cognacs have a "chemically" note to them, like you describe in this bottle.  I pick up a latex house paint thing that can be very off-putting.  I would like to explore this spirits space more, but seems there are too many inconsistent offerings for me to lay down some of the high prices asked.  

I don't know if it is the alleged additives, or if it is the way the grape spirit picks up age (in Whisky it shows up sometimes as varnish, shoe polish, or polished shoe leather!--to me anyway), but I sometimes get it as well.  I have noticed that it shows up more regularly in old brandies than young.  I am okay with this, as I enjoy the fresh bright fruitiness of 10ish year old ones like Age Du Fruit and Villa Zarri 10 quite a bit.  Because we don't get a lot of the smaller producer stuff out here, I always ask if I can try before I buy especially with older bottlings.  A couple of the stores around here get sample bottles regularly, so I have managed to find some gems, as well as avoid some duds.  

[tanstaafl2]

Something a bit different arrived this week. It is the "00 Double Zero Eau de Vie de Cidre". The Cidre being the apparently very fashionable Cyril Zangs Cidre using multiple species of apple to create a dry wine-like and somewhat sour based cidre. This was reviewed recently by SKU which is what piqued my interest so I added it to fill out a recent order from Astor.

 

 

It made its first tasting appearance in this weeks Wednesday Tastings which hopefully I will find time to write up at some point today. The rather minimalist packaging extends to the clear plastic "cork" which is starting to show up on some bottles of wine.

[Kpiz]

57 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

Something a bit different arrived this week. It is the "00 Double Zero Eau de Vie de Cidre"

 

It's beautiful! I'm looking forward to hearing your notes on this one. If it's a winner, I'll just have to pony up the money to have it shipped from Astor

[tanstaafl2]

1 hour ago, Kpiz said:

 

It's beautiful! I'm looking forward to hearing your notes on this one. If it's a winner, I'll just have to pony up the money to have it shipped from Astor

 

Well, it has a lovely nose...

 

I will try to get the Wednesday Tasting posted soon!

[NightCru]

9 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

 

It may be a personal palate predisposition with me, but too many Armagnacs and cognacs have a "chemically" note to them, like you describe in this bottle.  I pick up a latex house paint thing that can be very off-putting.  I would like to explore this spirits space more, but seems there are too many inconsistent offerings for me to lay down some of the high prices asked.  

I notice this from time to time but it's usually in the background enough that it doesn't ruin whatever I'm drinking for me.  I seem to notice it more in thin and muted brandies.  I do think it's something inherent to brandy and when there is enough else going on it blends seamlessly into the finished brandy but when there isn't much going on it comes through much more loudly and clearly.  

[NightCru]

I've been drinking the Pacory Calvados that K&L brought in.  I was excited by cask strength Calvados but hesitant at only 5 years old.  After reading SKU's review though (http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2016/06/pacory-calvados.html) I felt comfortable enough to buy a bottle and I'm glad I did.  This has some really great apple and pear flavor and it really doesn't taste as young as the age made me think it would.  I am very happy with the bottle, for $40 this was a steal.

[Kpiz]

5 hours ago, NightCru said:

I've been drinking the Pacory Calvados that K&L brought in.  I was excited by cask strength Calvados but hesitant at only 5 years old.  After reading SKU's review though (http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2016/06/pacory-calvados.html) I felt comfortable enough to buy a bottle and I'm glad I did.  This has some really great apple and pear flavor and it really doesn't taste as young as the age made me think it would.  I am very happy with the bottle, for $40 this was a steal.

Agreed - I also have a bottle of the Pacory open and am enjoying it. I wasn't sure how much I'd like it because I really enjoy the apple flavors in Calvados and this one uses a very high proportion of pears (70% if memory serves). While I do taste mostly pears in this, they come through nicely. Hopefully we'll see more cask strength Calvados, one from the Pays d'Auge would especially be appreciated!

[Kpiz]

Last night I decided it was time to finish off my bottle of 1986 Pouchegu that K&L brought in a couple years ago as an exclusive. Although this one didn't fare well in our recent whiskey club tasting, I thought this was an incredible bottle. It had a nice amount of fruit which I (somewhat surprisingly) don't always find in Armagnacs.

[compliance]

On 8/10/2016 at 9:36 AM, Kpiz said:

Last night I decided it was time to finish off my bottle of 1986 Pouchegu that K&L brought in a couple years ago as an exclusive. Although this one didn't fare well in our recent whiskey club tasting, I thought this was an incredible bottle. It had a nice amount of fruit which I (somewhat surprisingly) don't always find in Armagnacs.

It is an incredible bottle. One of my top KL brandies ever. Sadly I finished mine months ago and have been searching for more since with no luck. I have a friend with one, but once things enter is bunker they never come out till he's ready! I may have sniffed too much model glue growing up, but that note never bothers me!

 

Reading back since I haven't been here a while and I'm glad there's been a lot of the KL selection talk. They're one of the only places that gets these types of armagnac releases, so it's great to know when they got something that really stands out. I'm with you on the 90s Pellehauts, those are great bottles. I think the 1990 Jean Bon is also a winner (almost sold out right now!).  The 2001 Grangerie is a strange one, the bottle was undrinkable toxic perfume when first opened, but with time at least developed some redeeming elements. It's still not a good bottle though. 

Edited August 27, 2016 by compliance

[compliance]

On 6/30/2016 at 7:18 AM, tanstaafl2 said:

Something a bit different arrived this week. It is the "00 Double Zero Eau de Vie de Cidre". The Cidre being the apparently very fashionable Cyril Zangs Cidre using multiple species of apple to create a dry wine-like and somewhat sour based cidre. This was reviewed recently by SKU which is what piqued my interest so I added it to fill out a recent order from Astor.

 

 

It made its first tasting appearance in this weeks Wednesday Tastings which hopefully I will find time to write up at some point today. The rather minimalist packaging extends to the clear plastic "cork" which is starting to show up on some bottles of wine.

Someone brought one of these to a tasting recently and it's very surprising. I don't think I've ever had a white spirit with so little off notes, and it carries so much of the apple flavor! 

[compliance]

I figured out why the 1979 Jean Bon was reduced. It's  very simple and tastes like grape big league chew. Nothing like the 1990! 

[Kpiz]

I figured out why the 1979 Jean Bon was reduced. It's  very simple and tastes like grape big league chew. Nothing like the 1990! 

Thanks for the heads up. I almost picked that one up based on how good the 1990 was, and because of the reduced price. Although it looks like it has now sold out anyways.

[Kpiz]

I'm in Normandy for several days so naturally I have been visiting some calvados makers. It's amazing how many producers there are here, which I only learned after reading Charles Neal's Calvados book. One of the standouts from today was a 4yo from Vergers de Romilly that had very nice crisp apple flavor and a great mouth feel. Another was a 15yo from Tassin with some baked apple balanced with oak (which per Neal's book was purchased elsewhere, if it is in fact the same 15yo on offer as when he visited).

[garbanzobean]

Drinking a glass of Villa Zarri 10.  Was hoping the cooler weather we've been experiencing would reinvigorate my recently faded interest in brandy, but this is tasting thin, hot, and woody.  When my taster is on, it tastes like pure mellow fruitiness.  Probably going to dump the rest of this pour and move onto something else.  

[Kpiz]

Having a pour of Chateau de la Grangerie 2001 from K&L. Not my favorite of their Armagnac selections but I'm sick and can't taste that well anyways

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[Kpiz]

Having a couple ounces of the 1978 Pellehaut Armagnac that K&L brought in a couple years ago. Sometimes this is too oaky for me, but other times it hits all the right notes. It's like liquid oak candy from start to finish.