September 13, 2015

Malternatives
A verticale of very old armagnacs

Part Deux,
1898-1888

You may remember that last Sunday we had quite a bunch of very old armagnacs, including a smashing recent 50 years old ‘Les Grands Assemblages’ (which you could translate as ‘The Great Blends’) from the house Darroze. We stopped the session while we were in 1900, so already in the 19th century. Time to go further back today, as promised, but first a little aperitif/reference. This time I’ve chosen a very young armagnac by a large house, so that we have a faithful impression of what a ‘normal’ modern armagnac tastes like.

Janneau 5 yo (40%, OB, armagnac, +/-2014)

See, even the Armagnacqais are now adding age statements to their young spirits. A matter of trust and transparency! Colour: gold. Nose: lovely, fresh, fruity, full of yellow peaches, golden raisins, and yellow melons (Spanish?) Orchard fruits. It’s not an old-style ‘caramelised’ armagnac at all, even if it does get a little fudge-y after a few minutes. Vanilla fudge. Mouth: well, the vanilla got a little loud for me, and the spirit’s a little rough, perhaps. Not feinty of course, but perhaps a little too eau-de-vie-ish, reminding us of some ‘white’ armagnacs that they like to drink down there in the Gers region. The vanilla and the oak are a little prominent, and make me think of many a modern Scotch malt whisky. Right NAS. Finish: rather short, an a little oaky. Comments: the nose was quite superb, but the palate’s pretty uninteresting. Unless, I guess, you add a few ice cubes. Maybe that’s the point… SGP:430 - 75 points.

Let’s make a large jump now. Like, around 110 years… By the way, here's a picture of a mobile still in Armagnac, circa 1900...

Baron Gaston Legrand 1898 (40%, OB, Armagnac, +/-2010)

The house belongs to Cognac Lhéraud. It should actually be Bas-armagnac, although they wouldn’t say so on the label, and is entirely made with grapes from their own vineyards (25 hectares). I guess such an old vintage should come almost entirely from folle blanche, but you just cannot be sure. The house is located in the little village of Lannepax. As for the 1898 vintage, well, it is the year when Enzo Ferrari was born. Hope this baby won’t be too fast. Oh and if you wish, you can try a 2cl measure at the Park Hyatt Regency in Paris, the price is only 196€! Well… Colour: full amber. Nose: it’s the freshness that’s really impressive. I don’t know how much time it spent in wood and how much time in the paradis, but this baby’s anything but tired or flat. Fantastic whiffs of beehive, nectar, golden sultanas, then a surprising burst of calvados-like notes, overripe apples, ripe black cherries… And old sherry! No herbal or phenolic notes this time, it’s just great old-style armagnac. Oops, forgot to mention prunes, bags of prunes… Mouth: starts soft, perhaps a little grapy and even remotely soapy, before notes of cake and tobacco kick in. But the oak’s there as well, and I wouldn’t call this the best balanced old armagnac ever. As if it lacked polishing, after +/-110 years! Finish: perhaps a little short. Goes toward caramel and fudge. Comments: it’s the nose that’s totally impressive, while the palate was only ‘very good’. A little fragile, I’d say, but a great experience altogether. Well, it’s hard to remain fair, isn’t it… SGP:541 - 84 points.

Maybe was it the vintage? Only one way to find out…

Laubade 1898/2007 (40%, OB, Bas-armagnac)

Laubade again! Remember we loved the 1900/2006 (WF 90)… But this one’s older, it’s almost 110 years of age (the back label certifies that it was fully kept in wood for all of its life). Colour: deep amber. Nose: fantastic, rather in the ‘cooked’ style. Sauces, honeys, natural caramel, Werther’s Originals, agave syrup, toffee, dried quinces and figs, raisins, more raisins, Christmas cake… Frankly, you cannot not think of old pre-war Macallan! But who did copy whom? Mouth: extraordinarily lively, and even raw! Not raw as if that was a flaw, rather raw as a true armagnac should be. Plenty of prunes and dark chocolate, honey sauce, marmalade, tobacco, liquorice, dried dates, baked raisins (kugelhopf), more chocolate… And imagine it’s even a little malty. Only the body is marginally thin – not weak – and one cannot not dream of this at a higher strength. 43% vol. would do! Finish: perhaps a little short and dry, with a few burnt notes. Overcooked honey sauce. Comments: the second part of the palate and the finish weren’t totally-top-notch, but other than that, it’s glorious old spirit. Some parts also remind me of the most sherried ‘cooked’ Karuizawas. Seriously. SGP:551 - 89 points.

What would you have after a 1898, in a verticale? That’s right…

Laubade 1897/2007 (40%, OB, Armagnac)

The 1998 was pure Bas-armagnac, while this one’s a ‘simple’ armagnac. Shall we start to argue after almost 120 years? As for the year 1897, apparently, it’s in that year that the USA have annexed Hawaii. Colour: dark amber. Nose: wow, I’d have never thought I would taste a 1897 vs. a 1898 by the same house one day. Tell me about a head-to-head. This one’s immediately grander, more subtle, more oily/herbal, more complex… We’re in very old malt territories, and this time I seem to get echoes of that famous very old vintage of Dalmore that they have then rebottled several times as components in their recent ‘airport decanters’. So, it’s brilliant, surprisingly tarry, with a lot of fruitcake, prunes, raisins, liquorice, very old triple-sec, perhaps a little putty, cigars… Very, very promising nose, but the palate could still go astray… Mouth: sweet Vishnu! Great arrival, even if it gets then rather oakier, and a little too drying. Stewed fruits, tamarind jam, blood oranges, burnt maple syrup, black tobacco (untipped Gauloise), strong honey, roasted pecans and cashews. The honeyed side tends to grow, and to overwhelm the slightly drying oak All for the better! Finish: sort of long, on orangettes (zests dipped into chocolate), honey… And very old Dalmore! Drops of old calvados in the aftertaste. Comments: really a miracle. Spirit this old shouldn’t be this good (say people who are selling young stuff, of course). SGP:551 - 90 points.

I’m afraid this lousy blogger hasn’t got any 1896 or 1895. So…

Laubade 1894/2006 (40%, OB, Bas-armagnac)

A pure Bas-armagnac again this time, and well over 110 years old. It’s in 1894 that Coca-Cola sold their very first bottles; not sure we should celebrate that, should we? Colour: dark amber/brown. Nose: it’s really amazing that all these very old armagnacs are so different. But remember there is a vintage effect in wine, and that armagnac is distilled wine. In fact this one’s kind of cleaner and better polished than both the ‘98 And ’97, with more jams, dried fruits, and cakes. Although the background would be more phenolic and greasy, with engine oil, tarmac, then rather moss and fern, then hessian and ‘old leather bags’. This baby’s actually quite hard to follow, as it just wouldn’t stop changing. At some point, it’s like the best orange cake ever, straight from the oven. A 112 years old nose that makes you fall in love… Mouth: yes! This time it’s totally perfect, amazingly fresh, even gritty and (mildly) aggressive, with and incredible aromatic continuum that would lead you throughout an orchard, a pastry shop, an old bookstore, and an orange grove. Not one single flaw this time, it’s perfect spirit. Finish: medium, more honeyed and chocolaty. Candy sugar, maple syrup, raisins… So a rounder finish for once. Yet another achievement! Comments: one par with the Darroze 50 that we had the other day. Fabulous old armagnac. SGP:651 - 93 points.

And imagine this perhaps-not-too-lousy-blogger has got the following vintage at hand…

Laubade 1893/2007 (40%, OB, Armagnac)

This is 113 or 114 years old! No demijohns have been involved. ‘Simple’ armagnac again, by Laubade. What happened in 1893? Well, Mao Zedong was born. Colour: brown. Touchy… Nose: oh, this is different again. This time it’s all things from some forests that we have, mushrooms, fir needles, moss, fern, bark, mud, dead leaves, last year’s chestnuts, then quite some eucalyptus – quite amazingly, we haven’t found that much eucalyptus in the other ones, while that’s usually what comes with very old wood. There’s also some old pu-erh tea, with its very earthy side, Havana cigars, a little myrtle… I’m not sure this isn’t the most complex one so far. And between us, it could have been some great very old Scotch malt – older than what our friends have ever bottled. Highland Park? Stromness? I’m joking… Mouth: an incredible miracle. I was sure, after the nose, that this one would have gotten flat and woody. Not so. Sure it’s lost a bit of body, but some dried fruits and some jams are guarding this temple. Marmalade, candied angelica, kumquats, then rather ripe peaches – which is amazing, we usually rather find that in young armagnacs or cognacs – and even melons. This, is glorious. We could write pages about it, but I don’t want to bore you to death. Vicariousness has its limits. Finish: but what’s this miracle? Even the finish is pretty long. Honey, marmalade, jams, dried fruits… What’s also worth noticing with all these old armagnacs, is that contrarily to Scotch, they never give you too much cloves/cinnamon/pepper in the finishes and aftertastes. I don’t know why… Better seasoned oak? French oak? (it is French oak for sure, but that shouldn’t make the spirit less spicy)… I really don’t know… Any clues? It’s even got a fabulous earthiness. Comments: exceptional. There. And I think we should thank the house Laubade for all these super-old armagnacs that are, after all, very fairly priced when you compare them with what they’re doing beyond Hadrian’s Wall these days. Indeed, you can find these 1893s for between 2,000 and 4,000€ these days. I know, that’s a lot of money, but… SGP:651 - 94 points.

Well well well, that little 1893 has been great, so let’s go a bit horizontal…

Baron de Saint-Feux 1893/2007 (40%, OB, Armagnac)

According to the back label, this baby’s been integrally aged in wood, so it is a 113 or 114 years old armagnac, even if you take the Scots’ meaning into consideration (only years in wood do count). Colour: bright deep amber. Nose: it’s shier than the Laubade, perhaps even subtler, but you have to work on it a bit. I mean, nose deeply. Having said that, aeration does it much good, and honeys and raisins are soon to start to sing louder and louder, while some unexpected notes of strawberry jam are coming to the rescue. In fact, it is superb, even if fruitier and less ‘tertiary’ than the Laubade. Total pleasure, you could nose this without even noticing it’s such an old spirit. Impressive freshness, yet again. I also find overripe apples – old calvados – and it’s not the first time. Mouth: hold on, is it the same spirit as the Laubade? Colours and transparency weren’t the same at all, but I’d swear they are almost the same spirits. Good, this one’s a little rounder and jammier, perhaps, and it hasn’t got those earthy tones that we found in the Laubade, but other than that… Come on, it would be funny if those were sister casks, both filled in 1893, that would have evolved pretty similarly for no less than 113 years. Finish: impressively complex and fresh. Oranges, overripe apples, soft honeys, a touch of blond tobacco. Comments: probably folle blanche, and most possibly pre-phylloxeric vines. And yet again, I’m dreaming of such an armagnac that would have been bottled at 43 or 45% vol… (yeah, dream on, S.!) SGP:651 – 94 points.

We’re flying high now… (so to speak)… I guess we should stop this madness soon, and just have two more, both from the same vintage. An even older vintage, no need to say, and since we we’re at Monsieur le Baron de Saint-Feux’s…

Baron de Saint-Feux 1888/2007 (40%, OB, Bas-armagnac)

A Bas-armagnac this time. Remember, Bas-armagnac is the best, even if ‘bas’ means ‘low’, but that’s purely geographical. Once again and according to the back label, this baby’s integrally matured in oak. So, it’s almost 120 years old. Imagine! As for the vintage, it seems that 1888 was when Van Gogh cut his ear. Colour: dark amber. Nose: oooh… coffee! And gunpowder, tar, flints, engine oil, roasted chestnuts… It’s akin to the greatest sherry monsters on the nose, and a very old Glenfarclas Family Cask springs to mind. Can’t quite remember the vintage, perhaps 1952, perhaps 1953. This is similar. Should I also mention black tea? Tobacco? Corinthian raisins? Cigars? Red apples? The most wonderful Turkish dried figs? Beware maltopo… I mean, armaporn. I’m speechless (better like this). Mouth: ho-ho-ho. There are tannins this time – did you notice that we haven’t mentioned tannins yet? – but they’re perfectly integrated, while some superb chocolate and something like crushed prunes and oranges tend to invade your mouth. The thickness and the vivacity of it all are just mesmerizing. Incredible. We’re approaching total stardom, the pantheon of all aged spirits, and further proof that age may matter. Lol. Finish: and you know what? Even the finish is almost perfect, rich and fresh, raw and elegant, very ‘armagnac’ and totally… philosophical. This thing, you know, makes many other aged spirits kind of laughable and pitiful. Poetry in glass. Love the chocolate in the aftertaste. Comments: some eternal spirit. My, almost one hundred and twenty years in wood, and a freshness that would even make Miley Cyrus look a little seasoned. SGP:662 - 95 points.

We should stop now, on a very high note, but this is whiskyfun… Let’s go horizontal again, and we’re done.

Baron Gaston Legrand 1888 (40%, OB, Armagnac, +/-2010)

Let’s see if Monsieur le Baron is up again. One from ‘Cellar number four’, where only their oldest armagnacs are stored. Colour: almost coffee. Nose: right. This is glorious, it’s ‘a whole’, it’s full of black raisins, chestnut honey, coffee indeed (say Blue Mountain – ha-ha), these subtle tarry notes (not Port Ellen-tarry, mind you), ceps and white truffles, chocolate… In fact its like at some Mozart’s, at some point, you’d better say nothing and listen… to the spirit. A masterpiece. Mouth: only the 40% vol. cast a shade over this epic spirit. I don’t want to waffle on about strengths and weaknesses (but still, this would be so fabulous at…) but this is perfect. There are raisins, chocolate, herbs, old liqueurs, marmalade, tertiary ‘umami-esque’ notes, a little smoke – really – and then more and more bitter chocolate. Loads of chocolate. I guess that comes from the French oak, and it works greatly. Now, I think I loved the other Baron’s (Saint-Feux, that is) even better, it had rather more freshness. But this chocolaty and cigar-like style is just as fabulous. Finish: bums around a bit – that may be the strength – but other than that, all this chocolate is just extraordinary. Comments: what a session! I find it fantastic that a new generation of makers and bottlers of armagnac are starting to bottle at cask strength, because that’s armagnac’s main weakness – and probably only weakness –, modern palates need more oomph. Well, I need more oomph. But the spirits, the spirits… Are perfect. SGP:461 - 93 points.

Armagnac

Harvest in Armagnac, late 19th century

(with thanks and hugs to Diego)

Malternatives A verticale of very old armagnacs

Malternatives
A verticale of very old armagnacs