The French Spirits Forum- Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados

[Guest]

Exactly, which is why I told them to jam their price guide.

Well the price I paid for the lot is what the chabot xo retails for today, not even considering its age, so everything else is free in my mind.

[compliance]

Seems like this is now gone from K&L wines?

May have a chance to place an order with K&L which I usually can't do due to my location and was thinking of trying an Armagnac since so little is available locally With this one seemingly gone is there another recommendation from what is available without drifting too far beyond $100? Pellehaut 1987 perhaps? Or the younger 1998 Baraillon?

[tanstaafl2]

K&L doesn't ship to Georgia so was planning to ship to a connection in Alabama. Turns out Alabama is on the shipping list only for wine. Pretty much nothing in the southeast can receive liquor shipments from K&L so that idea has now gone pretty much by the boards!

[Eskwar]

I tried some of this, courtesy of my step-father, this week. Neither of us knows much about Armagnac, but it was gifted to him from one of his friends who graduated undergrad w/ him in '65. My wife (who generally likes wine, but not bourbon) said that it smelled more like something I'd like than she would. I'm not sure how to describe the taste other than that it is subtle, not spicy, gently sweet and grapey, w/ a color a bit like apple juice. Definitely good, though I'd probably have a tough time justifying a purchase of it myself.

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[tanstaafl2]

All the discussion here of Armagnac led me to pick a couple from K&L thanks to the kind assistance of a fellow SBer. Hope to get into these soon to see how it compares to other cognac and brandy.

Chateau de Pellehaut 1996 and Darroze 20. Will it be the new whiskey??? Hmm...

[sailor22]

The Darroze 20 was a huge hit with everyone on the porch tonight. You won't be disappointed.

[tanstaafl2]

The Darroze 20 was a huge hit with everyone on the porch tonight. You won't be disappointed.

I am going to have to get to that porch and SOON!

:cool:

[Dolph Lundgren]

I tried some of this, courtesy of my step-father, this week. Neither of us knows much about Armagnac, but it was gifted to him from one of his friends who graduated undergrad w/ him in '65. My wife (who generally likes wine, but not bourbon) said that it smelled more like something I'd like than she would. I'm not sure how to describe the taste other than that it is subtle, not spicy, gently sweet and grapey, w/ a color a bit like apple juice. Definitely good, though I'd probably have a tough time justifying a purchase of it myself.

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Chateau Laubade is great stuff. Been dying to try some of their cask strength stuff. But unfortunately, I don't live in France.

Here is their website:http://www.chateaudelaubade.com/article/welcome-to-chateau-de-laubade?lang=en

[Guest]

Drinking some of the Chabot XO armagnac I bought at auction recently, golly, geez, wowza! This stuff is sublime, such a rich and complex nose, quite easy to forgot the low proof. Starts off very anise forward and almost orange then opens into a very rich and tannic tokay like sweetness, I can just sniff this forever.

Hope I find another bottle of this vintage, I dont like my chances.

[Eskwar]

Chateau Laubade is great stuff. Been dying to try some of their cask strength stuff. But unfortunately, I don't live in France.

Here is their website:http://www.chateaudelaubade.com/article/welcome-to-chateau-de-laubade?lang=en

Very cool. Thanks for the link and info. Can't imagine what this would be like at CS (but I'd sure like to try it, as well).

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[Guest]

Finally opened up a big 1litre bottle of 1980s Otard XO cognac thats been staring at me for a few months. Apart from the cork disintergrating, as expected (which is why I have a draw full of old corks I save as spares now) its a solid pour, I will enjoy this one over the upcomming winter

[z327]

So what is the story with the Louis VIII I always see in the glass case when I'm hunting the rare whiskey's? I've seen it priced at $1955 to $5,000. The bottle looks great but what's with the crazy high price and big swing from store to store? Not familiar with the distilled grapes.

[AaronWF]

In an effort to be a good Jew but still knock back my daily dose during this Passover week, I've been doing some brandy diving. I picked up:

Marie Duffau Bas Armagnac 30yo d. 1973 b. 2003

Germain-Robin Coast Road Reserve

Germain-Robin XO

Delamain XO "Pale and Dry" Cognac

The Marie Duffau Armagnac is very reminiscent of a well-aged rye to me. It's 43% and brings sappy floral notes and a very rye-like spice kick on the palate. I really like it. The Coast Road Reserve is amazingly flavorful for an 80-proofer. It's fruity and somewhat meaty with a charming copper lightness to it. Tastes of very high quality distillation. The G-R XO is huuuuge on the nose with plenty of vanilla and stewed berries. The palate brings forth rich chocolate, more fruit and a bit of spice. I can honestly say I've never had a liquor at 80° that was so rich. Extremely well done.

I haven't opened the Delamain yet. I chose it because I was able to discover that they do not use any coloring in their cognacs. Also, from what I've read, the XO contains cognacs far older than the requisite 6 years old (25 years old?). I'll have to open it tonight.

This is a rabbit hole I could fall into and get lost in and my wallet needs this interest like I need an organ-harvesting hole on my body. Still, even though it's only been four days, I miss my malt and bourbon!!

[BFerguson]

This is a rabbit hole I could fall into and get lost in and my wallet needs this interest like I need an organ-harvesting hole on my body. Still, even though it's only been four days, I miss my malt and bourbon!![/quote

Arghhh!! Binny's already feeds my Bourbon habit on trips home. Info like this temps me more down that other isle with delicious brown liquid.....

But I have to admit, I am a fan of GR products, they are quite good.

Tempting on the 30yr......

B

[sailor22]

Just don't ever sample the G-R Anno Domini if you want to keep your wallet safely closed.

[z327]

At the suggestion of my whiskey manager I purchased Chateau de Saint Aubin Bas-Armagnac, Reserve du Chateau, Tour du Monde. I have to say that it's very enjoyable. Not so sweet like the cognac and Brandy I've tried. New to the French spirits so I won't attempt tasting notes at this juncture in my journey.

[sailor22]

Has anyone tasted the Hennessy Paradis?

[unclebunk]

In an effort to be a good Jew but still knock back my daily dose during this Passover week, I've been doing some brandy diving. I picked up:

Marie Duffau Bas Armagnac 30yo d. 1973 b. 2003

Germain-Robin Coast Road Reserve

Germain-Robin XO

Delamain XO "Pale and Dry" Cognac

The Marie Duffau Armagnac is very reminiscent of a well-aged rye to me. It's 43% and brings sappy floral notes and a very rye-like spice kick on the palate. I really like it. The Coast Road Reserve is amazingly flavorful for an 80-proofer. It's fruity and somewhat meaty with a charming copper lightness to it. Tastes of very high quality distillation. The G-R XO is huuuuge on the nose with plenty of vanilla and stewed berries. The palate brings forth rich chocolate, more fruit and a bit of spice. I can honestly say I've never had a liquor at 80° that was so rich. Extremely well done.

I haven't opened the Delamain yet. I chose it because I was able to discover that they do not use any coloring in their cognacs. Also, from what I've read, the XO contains cognacs far older than the requisite 6 years old (25 years old?). I'll have to open it tonight.

This is a rabbit hole I could fall into and get lost in and my wallet needs this interest like I need an organ-harvesting hole on my body. Still, even though it's only been four days, I miss my malt and bourbon!!

Edited April 23, 2014 by unclebunk

[compliance]

KL Wines 2014 brandy selections are showing up now. Anyone grab some? Find any winners? I ordered the1986 Domaine de Pouchegu 27 Year, but I don't live as close as I used to so it takes me forever to pick up these days.

[BootsOnTheGround]

Definitely would like to hear feedback on those K&L buys as well. I blame Driscoll for many things, Armagnac is on the top of the list.

Actually, one of my best scores isn't brown juice at all. 100% grain free and I have to explain to nearly everyone what it is exactly.....

[Kpiz]

KL Wines 2014 brandy selections are showing up now. Anyone grab some? Find any winners? I ordered the1986 Domaine de Pouchegu 27 Year, but I don't live as close as I used to so it takes me forever to pick up these days.

In case you guys didn't see SKU's blog today (Tues), he did reviews of the K&L Baraillons, Laballes, and Pouchegu and will continue with reviews of the Pellehauts tomorrow and then some if the Cognacs in the following days. While I find the K&L descriptions to be accurate, SKU's reviews are generally a little more to my taste. He had overall good things to say about all of them but his favorites were the '74 and '88 Baraillons, and the '86 Pouchegu. So Compliance, you probably picked a good one.

I have ordered a number of these brandies, and recently opened the two below. My notes probably aren't as reliable as the aforementioned blogger but here it goes:

- Baraillon 20yr: smells very similar to what I'd expect from a 20yr bourbon but there's a little more sweetness, which gives it away as brandy. This starts fairly sweet on the palate with and develops into a nice woody note by the end, which lingers for some time. Pretty solid but not as good at the '96 Pellehaut (I still have one open from last year to compare).

- Pellehaut '78: Much different profile here than the Baraillon. Much less sweetness, more earthy flavors like tea that got steeped too long, nutmeg, and bitter wood on the finish. It isn't too bitter or woody, but I'd also have to be in the mood for something like this in order to enjoy it. I do love that the barrel comes through this much though. It shows its age and doesn't taste adulterated whatsoever.

[sailor22]

Definitely would like to hear feedback on those K&L buys as well. I blame Driscoll for many things, Armagnac is on the top of the list.

Actually, one of my best scores isn't brown juice at all. 100% grain free and I have to explain to nearly everyone what it is exactly.....

That Darroze is probably a home run, great pick up. I am enjoying the Darroze 20 recently. It retained all it's complexity but it's edges really rounded off after some air time in a half full bottle and now it's even better than when first opened.

Driscol seems to prefer the Brandy's that are at least a little Bourbonesque and that fits my palate very well.

[Frodo]

Bought 2 bottles of Delord 1978 Armagnac yesterday. Regret not buying 25yr Delord when I had the chance so wasn't going to let these go by...

[tanstaafl2]

This is definitely of the non-French variety but picked up a couple of local brandies while traveling in Central Asia. They routinely refer to them as "cognac" so obviously pay no heed to the DOC!

I was surprised at how many grapes are grown in the area, especially considering much of it is desert, but the broad oasis and the heavy use of canals (which has its own issues) for agriculture seem to support it.

The first is a 500ml bottle of 6-7 yo brandy from Kyrgyzstan and the second is a 250ml (I have two of them) NAS but likely pretty young brandy from Turkmenistan. I don't have much expectation for either but the ones I tried in country were certainly drinkable if young and a bit more fruit forward as expected. Both are relatively low 84 pf which seems to be standard for the "higher" end bottles. The cheaper stuff (not that these were expensive) was typically 80 pf.

[garbanzobean]

I felt like trying Calvados so I bought a bottle of Alc-hem-ist 15 yr Calvados. Will probably give it a whirl tonight. I've not had good luck with grape-based brandies, and I was waffling on whether to go younger or older because I read that older Calvados can stray toward that flavor profile, but this was a good price. Worst case scenario: I can make some really nice cocktails.