The number of armagnacs on our desk keeps rising, so we’ll make a small effort to make our backlog smaller.
Armagnac Aurian 35 yo 1988 (47,4%, Spheric Spirits 2024, cask #43)
Nose: close to cognac in terms of brightness. Honey, white grapes, oranges and raisins. Sweet berries, maybe even a whiff of raspberry. A layer of furniture polish, really beautiful. Faint leathery hints. Then back to apple sauce, dried rose petals and fragrant hints of oak spice.
Mouth: a bit more oak than expected, but still very attractive. Peaches, whitecurrants and sour cherries. Then minty notes take over, with hints of white pepper and a hint of clove. Bergamot, marmalade, a hint of salt. Some roasted nuts and fir sap too.
Finish: rather long, with well-steeped tea and some resinous notes.
Lighter and brighter than other Aurians I’ve had before. Very good Armagnac. Spoiler: even after the 1983 this one still takes the lead – it’s simply more refined and elegant.
Armagnac Aurian 40 yo 1983 (48,2%, Spheric Spirits 2024, cask #M6)
Nose: similar furniture polish, always a good start. Slightly darker though, with salted caramel and a faint hint of coffee beans in the distance. Then plums, red grapes, strawberry and some eucalyptus. A tad less refined than the 1988.
Mouth: tobacco notes, some herbal tea and more of that salted caramel. Then also a light umami hint, pine needles and roasted nuts. Liquorice. Gets quite dry at times, with some active woody notes that bring it closer to bourbon whiskey at times, but there’s a minty touch that keeps it fresh.
Finish: medium, with toffee sweetness, berries, latte and wood tannins.
For me personally, Aurian means highly aromatic noses but also a firm woody footprint in the mouth. This evolution often means I start with a high score and then lower it as time goes by. Score: 86/100
Laballe Bas Armagnac 1970 – Baco (48,5%, OB 2020, dame jeanne)
Nose: quite some nutty notes now, pecans and peanuts. Hints of mushrooms and dusty cupboards. Old books and tobacco. Some apricot and berry notes, but the fruit is shy and the wood is stronger. Toast and leather.
Mouth: a hint of apricots again, with golden raisins but also a lot of minty notes. Then liquorice and plain oak. Leathery dryness sets in, along with clove and cocoa. Lots of rancio notes and a firm tannic (vinous) side towards the end. There’s even a hint of old bottle effect, although that seems strange.
Finish: medium, with plenty of herbal notes, pine wood and tannins.
This was probably transferred to a dame jeanne a bit too late. Now remember official bottlings are often in a different style than what we’d like to see. Clearly below the Laballe 1991 ‘Journal des Kirsch’. Score: 83/100
Domaine de Baraillon Bas Armagnac 1976-1979 (42%, OB for Passion for Whisky 2024, 60 btl.)
Nose: pretty succulent and rich, with a jammy layer of sweet grapes, dried mango, baked apples and candy sugar. Then a berry sourness lifts it to new heights. Maybe a whiff of lychee. Dark honey, with some oriental wood and dark plums. Elegant wood polish rounding it all off.
Mouth: darker and more woody now, with lots of cigar boxes and sandalwood. Also old Oloroso notes, with tart cranberries, nutmeg and ginger. Sour plum and lots of tobacco leaves, along with dark chocolate. Then rancio sets in, in an oaky way, also bringing loads of black tea and leather, along with tannins. This heavyweight tea side and the mere woodiness brings it down a little, in my opinion.
Finish: quite long, with more heavily steeped tea, tobacco and drops of herbal bitters.
The nose is totally lovely: rich, rounded and complex. Too bad there are some heavy tannins on the palate, which costs a few points in my book. Close to a highflyer though. Still available from Passion for Whisky. Score: 88/100
Pellehaut Armagnac 35 yo 1988 (49,7%, Grape of the Art 2024, cask #6, 230 btl.)
Nose: caramelly notes, sweet wood, dried apricots and plums, as well as cinnamon and butter pastry. Rich start. Then some minty notes, oak polish and hints of tea, along with candied ginger. Whiffs of orange peels and some ‘noble’ tannins as well.
Mouth: oily texture, less sweet than expected after the nose. More mint, dried and candied fruits, as well as herbal honey and a mild bitterness. Seville oranges aplenty. Then a specific combination of dark chocolate and tart lemon, with some burnt caramel underneath.
Finish: quite long, on coffee notes, grapefruit, aromatic herbs and some tobacco leaves.
A really solid armagnac again, but also lacking something special. Some bitterness too, which makes it another close call, below many other releases from this bottler. Score: 88/100