Darroze 1979 "Domaine Le Tuc" 40 Year Bas-Armagnac

Nose - grape must, apple, lemon oil, caramel, vanilla, dry oak, cinnamon, pine, anise, grapefruit zest, nutmeg, hazelnut, cocoa, black pepper, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - butterscotch, spiced apple, tart grape, lemon meringue, grapefruit oil, vanilla, allspice, cinnamon, dark chocolate, anise, hazelnut, ginger, chili pepper, tannic oak, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with musty grape, citrus oil, caramel, and tannic oak flavors. This is the oldest spirit I’ve tasted, and I doubt I’ll try many older than this in the future. It was distilled the same year Pink Floyd released “The Wall,” and that’s pretty cool. Forty years is a long time to sit in a French wine cellar. I shudder to think what forty years aging in Kentucky or Texas would yield, but time has been gentle on this one. The nose is deeply aromatic with citrus oils, drying oak, and powdered nuts and cocoa. The palate is sour, but not in a bright, youthful way. It’s a good sour, followed up with baking spices, anise, nuts, and more tannic oak. The finish is particularly nice, lingering pleasantly without any off flavors on the tail end. Overall this is very nice Armagnac, but it doesn’t totally wow me. I enjoy the deep, oily citrus notes and the nutty, tannic woodiness that can only emerge with a long time in the barrel. And it’s great being able to taste something this old without taking out a second mortgage on my home.