Domaine de Charron is run by a relative of the Darroze family. They’re doing things a little differently because they only use new oak barrels and don’t touch the spirit after filling the cask. Hence the dark colour of this armagnac, I suppose.
For this 2004 vintage they used Baco grapes. It is the latest bottling from Grape of the Art. The zebras on the label (if you look closely) are an homage to the owner’s local rugby team, whose uniform had black and white stripes.
Bas-Armagnac Charron 19 yo 2004 (51,3%, Grape of the Art 2024, cask #95, 256 btl.)
Nose: highly polished, with some fresh bourbonny oak, even a little glue, as well as cigar boxes and some sweet mint. Then caramel notes, hints of coffee beans, along with red berries and grapes, plums, kirsch, some coconut and vanilla cream. Cinnamon too.
Mouth: good power, still mixing in some bourbon style wood, richly toasted. Sweet vanilla, caramel and dark cherries. A buttery roundness. Then dried apricots, juicy raisins, more cherries, peppermint and thyme syrup, with minty freshness. It gets more chocolaty and spicy towards the end.
Finish: long and drying, with warm wood, hints of citrus, a dash of Caribbean rum and spiced chocolate.
A interesting Americagnac, so to speak. The active woodiness takes us to the US, but it blends nicely with the innate fruity sweetness. Slightly robust but rather unique and interesting – a nice find from GotA.
Bas-Armagnac Charron 2008 (50,2%, Swell de Spirits 2024, 200 btl.)
Nose: nicely varnished wood again, along with orange peels, fresh grapes and berries. Mango and banana, with refreshing verbena and mint leaves, as well as aromatic oils and tobacco leaves.
Mouth: slightly more woody now, in an almost medicinal way. Mint and eucalyptus. Then a fruity layer of apricots and fresh plums, more oranges, black pepper and herbal tea. Hints of chocolate towards the end.
Finish: fairly long, still very elegant, on citrus fruits, gentle wood and mint throughout.
Less American this time, the wood is more elegant and the entire profile is a bit closer to cognac. Both share a lot of really nice elements – mint, varnish, fruits – they’re clearly from the same family. I’ve only seen great spirits from Charron so far, remember the name. Score: 89/100