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Armagnac

G

godfather

New Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Messages
153
I recently came back from Europe where I had tried Armagnac for the first time. This stuff is excellent and I think I prefer it over VS/VSOP Cognacs.

At the Duty Free shop, I picked up a bottle called "Cles Des Ducs VSOP."

In California this stuff is not very prevelant, and unfortunately I have not seen/been exposed to different Armagnacs.

Can anyone recommend some moderately priced Armagnacs? Thanks in advance!
 
I drink it, patience my man, I missed the thread the first time. :laugh:

AVB mentioned a while back that you can get XO level Armagnacs for far less than Cognacs of that level so I went to my friend who owned a liquor store at the time and we looked in his liquor catalog and I was able to buy a bottle of Cerbois Armagnac with a date stamped on it of "1982" and it was bottled in April of 2005 so that's some pretty old stuff! I think I paid less than $50.00 for the bottle.

This is a "Bas Armagnac" which is one of the three Armagnac regions. The other two are La Ténarèze and Haut Armagnac. The soils are different in those three regions so the Armagnacs taste slightly different from one another.

This Cerbois Bas Armagnac is the only one I've tried so, I am by no means an expert on Armagnac.

I do like this Armagnac but it's not quite as complex as an XO level Cognac like the bottle of Remy Martin XO (YUMMY!) I have at my bar.
 
For her last birthday, my wife was given a bottle of Armagnac by her brother that was distilled in the year of her birth ("aged 50 years in oak barrels"...don't tell her I told you how old she is).
The brand is Nismes-Delclou.
Don't know what it cost but it is gooooood.
 
I enjoy Armangac after going to France also. I think I enjoy them more than Cognac since it has more notes akin to some of the upper region scotches I enjoy as it is not as "fruity". I have a bottle of 15 year old Vieil Armagnac that I am enjoying now that was purchased in Versailles last time I was there for $65. It is "Hors D'Age" & is actually from a single cask and not a blend. I do enjoy blended Armagnac that is readily available at a local high end liquor store here. Here is a link to one of the online retailers I use who sells it

CLICKY

Here is a handy guide to Armagnac ages

Trois Etoiles [3 Star]
at least 2 years old

VSOP
at least 5 years old

XO or Napoleon
over 6 years old

Hors d'Age
at least 10 years old

However, new labeling is being phased in:

Armagnac
aged up to six years

Vieil Armagnac
aged over 6 years in oak

Vintage
unchanged

Blanche d'Armagnac
not aged.

I highly recommend. :thumbs:
 
Captain Leafheart said:
For her last birthday, my wife was given a bottle of Armagnac by her brother that was distilled in the year of her birth ("aged 50 years in oak barrels"...don't tell her I told you how old she is).
The brand is Nismes-Delclou.
Don't know what it cost but it is gooooood.
Click to expand...

WOW!! :thumbs: That bottle goes for around $200.00 and it's also a Bas Armagnac. It's a much higher level than the one I have. I just had a small glass of my Cerbois a couple of nights ago and I just must not have been in the mood for it because it didn't really do much for me. :(

sgates, do you like Armagnac as much as you like Scotch? In my case, sometimes I'm in the mood for a nice single malt and other times I like a cognac or armagnac but as time goes on, I'm moving more towards the single malts. :thumbs:

It's all AVB's fault. :D
 
coventrycat86 said:
sgates, do you like Armagnac as much as you like Scotch? In my case, sometimes I'm in the mood for a nice single malt and other times I like a cognac or armagnac but as time goes on, I'm moving more towards the single malts. :thumbs:
Click to expand...


I am more of a single malt man in addition to belgian / trappist beers than anything else. But I don't drink single malts with cigars (strange I know). I find that the scotches I like have fine nuances that get drowned out with a good cigar. However, these notes that are harder to pick up I get readily with Armagnac in spades, so a cigar doesn't dull out the flavor.

However, I used to drink a lot of islay scotch that was "peatier" and more smoke filled that went well with a cigar (bowmore, laphroaig) - but the western / northern highland scotches I like know (oban, glenmorangie) have these fine nuances that I am leaning towards now.
 
I was searching through my parents' liquor cabinet tonight after a nice dinner for an after dinner drink. His Scotch was gone but I found a curious bottle that I had no idea what it was. I asked my dad and he said it was given to him on his first trip to France in 1986 and the label said "Bas Armagnac: de Montber. 12 ans d'age Produce of France CR 32110 Nogaro. Sica France Mais s.a."

I had never heard of Armagnac before so I went to my trusty CP search and found this thread. I removed the cap and the cork fell apart in my hand. After carefully removing the rest of the cork I poured a little in a glass and was shocked by it. I don't ever remember having Cognac before but have had run of the mill Brandy and this was far and away better. The aroma was somewhere between vanilla fudge and creme brulee and it tasted about the same. Simply wonderful, I just wish I had brought a cigar to pair with it.

Has anyone ever heard of this brand? I googled it and couldn't find any info on it but if this is the standard for Armagnac and it is somewhat reasonable, I could definately go for another bottle after I finish this one.
 
Laubade makes good armagnac. I find the older aged armagnacs are far superior to the young ones. Not always the case with SMSW although it does seem true for cognac.
 
Good morning America,

viewing topics, I saw this one about armagnac. What a surprise to see u're talking about armagnac from "Le chateau de Laubade" where i come from (3 miles away). For myself, in the "bas-armagnac" region, i can advise armagnac from "La croix de salles" in a little village which is called Nogaro. This old house sells a wonderfull "hors d'âge" (a mix of 3 armagnacs , one of which the youngest is 15 years old). Don't forget too my cousin's armagnac, the "Laberdolive", one of the famous house in the Gers.
 
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