WhiskeyBlender Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 A new Armagnac friend of great maturity, complexity, and finesse just arrived today, 56 years old to be exact. All I can say is, wow, just.....WOW! I'm often not a fan of Armagnacs that have spent that long in cask, but this one still has some nice fruit on the nose, with notes of Pruneau de Agen (a local Gascon delicacy of prunes in a rich Armagnac syrup), dried apricot, and black Mission fig, with hints of rancio (the oxidized esters of fatty acids, which take on an almond/walnut/hazelnut type of aroma). The tannins are remarkably soft, and the wood isn't overbearing for such an old Armagnac. The distillation and barrel entry proof was 52% ABV, and the Armagnac reduced naturally over the years, coming to a quite nice 42.7% ABV. It comes from 100% Baco, giving it a lot of muscularity and intense dark dried fruits. There is great depth on the palate, and the length on the palate keeps going on forever. A good 15 minutes after I finished it, I'm still tasting all that Armagnac deliciousness on my palate. Cheers, and in good spirits, Nancy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigPapa Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 A new Armagnac friend of great maturity, complexity, and finesse just arrived today, 56 years old to be exact. All I can say is, wow, just.....WOW! I'm often not a fan of Armagnacs that have spent that long in cask, but this one still has some nice fruit on the nose, with notes of Pruneau de Agen (a local Gascon delicacy of prunes in a rich Armagnac syrup), dried apricot, and black Mission fig, with hints of rancio (the oxidized esters of fatty acids, which take on an almond/walnut/hazelnut type of aroma). The tannins are remarkably soft, and the wood isn't overbearing for such an old Armagnac. The distillation and barrel entry proof was 52% ABV, and the Armagnac reduced naturally over the years, coming to a quite nice 42.7% ABV. It comes from 100% Baco, giving it a lot of muscularity and intense dark dried fruits. There is great depth on the palate, and the length on the palate keeps going on forever. A good 15 minutes after I finished it, I'm still tasting all that Armagnac deliciousness on my palate. Cheers, and in good spirits, Nancy What’s a bottle like that run ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrink Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 3 hours ago, BigPapa said: What’s a bottle like that run ? https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/darroze+1962 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiskeyBlender Posted September 13, 2018 Author Share Posted September 13, 2018 On 9/12/2018 at 7:10 AM, kevinbrink said: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/darroze+1962 Wow, I drastically overpaid for it! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrink Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 6 hours ago, WhiskeyBlender said: Wow, I drastically overpaid for it! lol Well looks like it was way more expensive stateside, but in general yeah winesearcher is a great reference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiskeyBlender Posted September 13, 2018 Author Share Posted September 13, 2018 1 hour ago, kevinbrink said: Well looks like it was way more expensive stateside, but in general yeah winesearcher is a great reference. Yes, that's very true that it is much more expensive stateside, @kevinbrink. I usually go to France at lease once a year, and pick up Armagnac bottles for an insanely low price (compared to here). I buy a cheap 2nd suitcase over there and load it up with bottles! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarthQuake Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 (edited) @WhiskeyBlender That looks sounds glorious! Buying a suitcase to pack full of Armagnac is a great idea as well! I'll concur with @kevinbrink, wine searcher is awesome, I use it all the time. As far as Darroze goes, I always check https://www.internationalwineshop.com/ - they seem to generally have the best prices (and they ship to Iowa - a lot of stores don't). Whenever I go to Chicago I stop at Binny's, while they tend to have good prices on most everything, they have Darroze at about 2x higher than this store. They don't have the 1962 but they do have a 1966 (49 year old) for $250, along with a dozen or so other vintages. I've had the 1985 and 1980 and both were great. Edited October 28, 2018 by EarthQuake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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