LeeEvolved
Darroze Les Grands Assemblage 40 Year
Armagnac — Bas-Armagnac , France
Reviewed
March 28, 2019 (edited April 3, 2019)
So, a quick Google search informs me that Armagnac is French brandy made using column stills, instead of pot stills traditionally used for regular brandy and cognac. It should take on a lighter alcohol note and allow the oak casks to impart more character and depth than typical, high-strength brandy. If that’s not correct, please feel free to correct and enlighten me with a comment. This isn’t my normal wheelhouse spirit and I’m open to becoming a more learned connoisseur.
The color is amazing- deep and dark mahogany and worn leather. It’s very oily and doesn’t really leave any legs behind- just numerous drops of all shapes and sizes.
The nose strikes me as different flavors of cola: Coca, Mr Pibb and a hint of Dr Pepper. The grape notes @Generously_Paul spoke at length about also mingle around with lots of sugary, caramel sweetness. Oak notes add a bit of liveliness and bite as it sits. I gotta admit that it smells wonderful.
The palate delivers grape soda and Mr Pibb- heavily. It’s so very sweet that any alcohol is hidden. Oak spirals add abrasive bite to it and that saves it from being a total, grape and toffee bomb. Although, I admit I couldn’t tell you how 40 years in the Barrel has shaped the flavor profile or complexity, but this stuff had to be even sweeter going into the cask if it’s still this rich and sweet 4 decades later.
The finish is bizarrely short. This is where I expected lingering notes of, well, everything. It’s just not there. A quick hit of super sweet and oak and it’s gone. Nothing sticky, but nothing off-putting either.
Overall, it’s cool to try something this old, but I’m afraid it’s not my cup of tea. I’ve had some sweet whisky in my time, but nothing as sweet as this stuff (that I can easily recall). I’m very curious what a bottle of this costs, though. Thanks for the well-aged pour @PBMichiganWolverine. It was cool trying something this old. Cheers.
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@PBMichiganWolverine If you can find it I'd strongly recommend the 17 year old 110 proof bottling from Velier.
@cascode out of curiosity, i did a quick google search on Caroni. Doesn’t sound like your sugary sweet typical rum at all. Now I’m curious to try it
@PBMichiganWolverine Indeed, not quite those prices, but that’s the neighbourhood. At least with B & PE the distilleries are to be resurrected- Caroni is lost forever.
@cascode like the Port Ellen or Brora of the rum world?
@PBMichiganWolverine Caroni is indeed excellent but increasingly hard to find and escalating in price.
@cascode cheers, really appreciate the insight.
@cascode @dubz480 I’m not a fan of sweet rum as well, but I’ve heard Caroni is really good. Not that I’ve tried it
@dubz480 Although I have a sweet tooth for many things (including several liqueurs) I find most of the high-sugar rums ghastly. Zacapa and Diplomatico set my teeth on edge nowdays. However anything by Foursquare distillery (Barbados) is going to be good and have no post-sugaring. They make rum under their own name and also Doorly's. Rich, and deep flavours without too much sweetness. Try also looking at rhums agricole, which come from a few ex-colonial French islands. A very different style with prominent grassy hogo notes (usually) and WAY less sugar. However it's a style you either love or hate. HSE and J.Bally are great examples. In the Cognac world if you want something drier and less syrupy look at Francois Voyer, Jean Luc Pasquet, Paul Girard, Pierre Ferrand and Raymond Ragnaud. In armagnac sweetness is pretty much part of the trip, and it needs oak influence to bring in balance.
@cascode do you have some good examples of those rums? I also have a hard time getting past the sweet notes of rum but I think what you describe might suit me well
Like rum, just about any armagnac is going to be sweeter than a whisky - it's the nature of the beast. Interestingly it's the sweetness of cheap brandy and cognac that turned me against that spirit for a long time, until I discovered the drier styles produced by some of the small houses. However in armagnac's case I *do* like the rich grapey/oaky sweetness. Go figure.