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The French Spirits Forum- Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados


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I have some things to celebrate coming up.  ALSO, a purveyor I buy from a lot had multiple 1L bottles of OGD BIB so I bought three AND, for celebrating, picked up a L'Encantada 18 yr Le Freche 2002 cask strength (54.5% ABV).  I've had a few sips in restaurants of armagnac from this house, but this is the first bottle of theirs I've bought.  When opened in the next few weeks, it will also be the oldest and highest proof French spirit I've knowingly consumed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dartigalongue 25 Yr. Bas Armagnac grand eau de vie. This is very tannic, nutty, etc. I really like it. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Last night I had a pour of 1994 Ch. De Pellehaut 100% Folle Blanche 27yo. Armagnac Tenareze 47.5%.  I don't visit this often but wow!  So good.  Tons of ripe fruit on the nose and sweet fruit and cola on the palate.  Just enough tannin and acidity in the finish to give it structure without going down the bitterness path that puts me off to some Yaks.  I think I can still get this at K&L for $80 so I might just be getting a back up.  I know I will regret it if I don't..

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8 hours ago, fosmith said:

Last night I had a pour of 1994 Ch. De Pellehaut 100% Folle Blanche 27yo. Armagnac Tenareze 47.5%.  I don't visit this often but wow!  So good.  Tons of ripe fruit on the nose and sweet fruit and cola on the palate.  Just enough tannin and acidity in the finish to give it structure without going down the bitterness path that puts me off to some Yaks.  I think I can still get this at K&L for $80 so I might just be getting a back up.  I know I will regret it if I don't..

Is that one bottle?  Or, three?  😁

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On 8/23/2022 at 3:49 PM, smokinjoe said:

Is that one bottle?  Or, three?  😁

Just one.  Or less that 1/4 of a bottle now.  😞

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Last night at the first edition of the Bourbon Bonanza Benefit (for those who remember the Whiskey Pig events in Bardstown this is the West Coast version put on by the same people) the host restaurant/bar had this as one of the pours that they pulled out early. It's 40ye age stated and was distilled pre WW1. It was incredible. The bartender was amazed that all these bourbon nerds were lining up for this and that bottle did not last long.

 

 

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5 hours ago, flahute said:

Last night at the first edition of the Bourbon Bonanza Benefit (for those who remember the Whiskey Pig events in Bardstown this is the West Coast version put on by the same people) the host restaurant/bar had this as one of the pours that they pulled out early. It's 40ye age stated and was distilled pre WW1. It was incredible. The bartender was amazed that all these bourbon nerds were lining up for this and that bottle did not last long.

 

 

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@flahute Wow......just, wow!!!! You didn't happen to take any tasting notes or remember any specifics about it, do you? I bet that was amazing!

 

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34 minutes ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

@flahute Wow......just, wow!!!! You didn't happen to take any tasting notes or remember any specifics about it, do you? I bet that was amazing!

 

Luckily it was the first pour of the night so my palate was fresh. I didn't take notes because it was a bit chaotic right at the beginning of the event with all the people showing up and being excited to see each other and all the catching up. I can tell you that I struggle a bit with armagnac because it has a funk (to me) - not sure what it is, that I just haven't gotten used to yet. (It's because I want it to be like bourbon and haven't given it a chance to be its own thing yet). With this one, no funk. Just absolutely beautiful balance. It didn't taste like bourbon though, it was just an interestingly complex interplay of old world flavors if that makes any sense. Sorry I can't remember anything specific!

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Having some Osocalis Heritage tonight. A friend owns a liquor store and got me 2 bottles at cost a couple of years ago. I hadn’t come back to it because I’m afraid to finish my open bottle. This stuff is phenomenal. I wish we had more brandy like this produced in the US. 

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On 9/2/2022 at 8:27 PM, DeepCover said:

Having some Osocalis Heritage tonight. A friend owns a liquor store and got me 2 bottles at cost a couple of years ago. I hadn’t come back to it because I’m afraid to finish my open bottle. This stuff is phenomenal. I wish we had more brandy like this produced in the US. 

@DeepCover Wow, how cool that you managed to get two bottles of the Osocalis Heritage! The co-founder and distiller of Osocalis, Dan Farber, is a friend of mine. All of his alambic brandies are absolutely amazing. Even though the XO is a step "down" from the Heritage, I have to admit that one is my favorite of the portfolio. Have you tried it, or been able to find it? If not, you might want to see if your friend who owns the liquor store can get ahold of some. It's a real treat! 

 

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On 9/4/2022 at 6:48 PM, WhiskeyBlender said:

@DeepCover Wow, how cool that you managed to get two bottles of the Osocalis Heritage! The co-founder and distiller of Osocalis, Dan Farber, is a friend of mine. All of his alambic brandies are absolutely amazing. Even though the XO is a step "down" from the Heritage, I have to admit that one is my favorite of the portfolio. Have you tried it, or been able to find it? If not, you might want to see if your friend who owns the liquor store can get ahold of some. It's a real treat! 

 

This is great to hear about the XO. My buddy doesn’t have access to it, but I’ll search it out while traveling. I’ve been really curious about the XO, so I absolutely appreciate you offering your opinion on it. Out of curiosity, how does it stack up against the pre-acquisition G-R XO? I do really like the G-R XO, and I only have one unopened bottle left.

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On 9/5/2022 at 5:03 PM, DeepCover said:

This is great to hear about the XO. My buddy doesn’t have access to it, but I’ll search it out while traveling. I’ve been really curious about the XO, so I absolutely appreciate you offering your opinion on it. Out of curiosity, how does it stack up against the pre-acquisition G-R XO? I do really like the G-R XO, and I only have one unopened bottle left.

@DeepCover Wow, that's a great question. I'm going to give you a rather long-winded answer that might be more than you bargained for, but c'est la vie! Quality-wise, I think that Osocalis is right up there with pre-acquisition G-R XO, and if anything, I think it actually exceeds the G-R expressions where the brandy was distilled after master distiller Hubert Germain-Robin left in 2005. Believe it or not, I think that quality has gone back up at G-R since the acquisition, since Hubert started consulting for Gallo after the purchase. There were a lot of things going on in production that weren't quite up to par during those years after he left, but I digress. 

 

That said, although both Osocalis and G-R are both (arguably) the very best alambic-style brandies made in the U.S., the XO's are quite different stylistically. For instance, when I was still working at G-R, the XO was mostly a blend of 75% Pinot Noir (mostly from Roederer), 10 - 20% French Colombard, 5 - 10% Semillon, and about 1% Chenin Blanc, and various blends of these. The high percentage of Pinot Noir gives the brandy that feminine, red berry fruit like cherries and raspberries, and violet kind of notes. Pinot Noir tends to "show well" quite early in its maturation (i.e, 6 - 7 years old), but goes through some unpleasant oxidation cycles until it reaches greater maturity. And we always used "cote de blanc" yeast, which were soft but great for long-term maturation. We always distilled on light lees. As for cooperage, almost all of our barrels came from the much esteemed Tonnellerie Vicard, just outside of the town of Cognac. The barrels were 92 gls/350 liters, mostly with a medium+ toast. Freshly distilled eau-de-vie (EDV) spent 9 months in the new barrels before being transferred to older oak. We also had some barrels that were over 100 years old that belonged to Hubert's grandfather (of Jules Robin Cognac, which sold to Martell in the 1960's). These were used as oxidation vessels for the oldest of the G-R stock.

 

While Osocalis basically uses the same varietals in the Osocalis XO, I am pretty sure I remember Dan saying that the majority of his blend uses French Colombard. I also generally find his XO to have a little more rancio (oxidized esters of fatty acids) type of notes than the G-R XO, giving it more nutty qualities like walnuts, marzipan, etc. It takes Colombard a lot longer than Pinot Noir to "show well," but because of the Colombard, Osocalis brandies present a bit more white peach, dried apricot, and melon fruit to my mind, with great complexity as they mature.. I'm not sure what Dan uses regarding yeast, but I can definitely smell some lees in his brandies, so I know he distills "sur lie," or on the lees. Also, I know that he personally picks out and buys the staves he wants to use in all of his barrels. I don't know who coopers them and what toast level(s) he likes, but I know that he puts a lot of thought and great care into planning his maturation program. 

 

At any rate, I absolutely think that everything Osocalis releases is world-class and top-notch, and that it is right up there with the G-R expressions that used Hubert's own distillations (pre-2005 distillate) and the more recent Gallo G-R expressions (where Hubert is involved once again). I hope this helps give you a little background into these two distilleries and a deeper appreciation of these brandies too!

 

Cheers! 🥃

Nancy

Edited by WhiskeyBlender
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@WhiskeyBlender What an amazing post! Thank you so much for all the details on both the G-R and Osocalis offerings. I’m also encouraged to hear Gallo has enlisted Hubert’s assistance. I’ve stayed away from the Gallo G-R XO bottles, but I also rarely see them in my neck of the woods (TX). I may try one out at some point knowing Hubert has helped them out.

 

I can’t wait to get my hands on an Osocalis XO and report back.

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I like to keep some distilled French grape juice on hand.  Running low on this one so picked this up.  Local bottler, cheapest XO cognac at the store, uncut and unfiltered, quite rare in the cognac world.  
 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I picked up what should be some really nice p.m. spirits Armagnac’s in Houston this week. 
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On 10/6/2022 at 7:22 PM, LCWoody said:

I picked up what should be some really nice p.m. spirits Armagnac’s in Houston this week. 
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Damn Woody you always post the best stuff.  Enjoy.

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I'll of course search the site. 

 

But.

 

Suggestions for armagnacs and cognacs welcome, will be in Bordeaux region & Paris for about 10 days circa 22nd to 1st.

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2 hours ago, Anwalt said:

I'll of course search the site. 

 

But.

 

Suggestions for armagnacs and cognacs welcome, will be in Bordeaux region & Paris for about 10 days circa 22nd to 1st.

9 years of information and suggestions on 36 pages…but it ain’t enough…🤣

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1 hour ago, smokinjoe said:

9 years of information and suggestions on 36 pages…but it ain’t enough…🤣

 

New generation.  Ungrateful, unwilling to exert effort, and need up-to-the-second info.

 

OK, just kidding about those first two.  As is usual here, reading the old posts should be fun & informative.

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5 hours ago, Anwalt said:

I'll of course search the site. 

 

But.

 

Suggestions for armagnacs and cognacs welcome, will be in Bordeaux region & Paris for about 10 days circa 22nd to 1st.

I haven't been to Paris in many years but I've heard that Maison du Whiskey is definitely worth a visit. 

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  • 3 months later...

Got a gift card for Christmas and nothing in the Binny's bourbon isle stuck out, so I went armagnac on a flyer. It's a Delord Recolte 1979 single cask 47.8%. I've had cognac before and it's not my cup of tea, but this armagnac is pretty darn good. Different, but still in the realm of what a bourbon drinker would like. Considering starting a bunker position for armagnac, just a few bottles to stash away, and luckily Benny's has a pretty nice selection at cask strength. Not interested in the 80 proof versions.

 

 

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On 1/23/2023 at 7:58 PM, jvd99 said:

Got a gift card for Christmas and nothing in the Binny's bourbon isle stuck out, so I went armagnac on a flyer. It's a Delord Recolte 1979 single cask 47.8%. I've had cognac before and it's not my cup of tea, but this armagnac is pretty darn good. Different, but still in the realm of what a bourbon drinker would like. Considering starting a bunker position for armagnac, just a few bottles to stash away, and luckily Benny's has a pretty nice selection at cask strength. Not interested in the 80 proof versions.

 

 

I've heard, (read), the same thing about the armagnac.    I almost bought a bottle, but couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger until my cheap-ass can try it.      

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5 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

I've heard, (read), the same thing about the armagnac.    I almost bought a bottle, but couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger until my cheap-ass can try it.      

I had a gift card and I couldn't resist a 42 year old bottle for like $129. That per year value just can't be had anywhere else.  My curiosity paid off because it ended up tasting pretty good. I have no idea what a good armagnac is supposed to taste like, but I have no complaints, and I'm not too picky. For me, I probably wouldn't buy an armagnac at 80 proof, just like I wouldn't buy an 80 proof bourbon. I'd imagine that age and alcohol content are important, like bourbon, and the higher the proof the better IMO. So I'll be on the lookout for the combination of higher ABV and age stated armagnacs in the future.

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5 hours ago, jvd99 said:

I had a gift card and I couldn't resist a 42 year old bottle for like $129. That per year value just can't be had anywhere else.  My curiosity paid off because it ended up tasting pretty good. I have no idea what a good armagnac is supposed to taste like, but I have no complaints, and I'm not too picky. For me, I probably wouldn't buy an armagnac at 80 proof, just like I wouldn't buy an 80 proof bourbon. I'd imagine that age and alcohol content are important, like bourbon, and the higher the proof the better IMO. So I'll be on the lookout for the combination of higher ABV and age stated armagnacs in the future.

Thanks for the details.

Now I really want to try it!

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On 1/23/2023 at 4:58 PM, jvd99 said:

Got a gift card for Christmas and nothing in the Binny's bourbon isle stuck out, so I went armagnac on a flyer. It's a Delord Recolte 1979 single cask 47.8%. I've had cognac before and it's not my cup of tea, but this armagnac is pretty darn good. Different, but still in the realm of what a bourbon drinker would like. Considering starting a bunker position for armagnac, just a few bottles to stash away, and luckily Benny's has a pretty nice selection at cask strength. Not interested in the 80 proof versions.

 

 

The Delord 25 yr is pretty good considering it's 80 proof.  Not really thin and watery like 80 proof bourbon.  It was the bottle that got me interested in Armagnac. 

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