PBMichiganWolverine
L'Encantada Lous Pibous Hail Yak 1995 #135
Armagnac — Bas Armagnac, France
Reviewed
June 18, 2020 (edited August 25, 2020)
L’Encantada is somewhat of a cult favorite in the Armagnac world. Just as Caroni is to rum, and Brora to whisky, L’Encantada is to Armagnac. Armagnac producers in general are quite small compared to whiskey. These are not the mega-behemoths of the distilling world, but rather small farmer distillers. L’Encantada takes that romanticized notion a step a further: they go procure the farmers that make barely a few barrels a year. Yet—-you can still get these 20-30-40 yr micro-distilled single farm single spirits for just around $110-150. Imagine a 30yr single farm whisky made just a few barrels/yr?! It’ll be well over $1000.
Micro-distillation is just one aspect. Cask management is a factor too. These producers that L’Encantada go to are using wood from their own land, storing in garages, basements, and their barns.
Why “the Brora” and “Caroni “ of the Armagnac world? Well...L’Encantada goes to the micro farm distiller, but the Louis Pibous ones are no longer in operation. So, the few out there are it.
This one is a 24 yr old Louis Pibous, which I paid maybe $5 for a sample vial ( not sure prices now...this was a sample from some years back). It’s not like your normal Armagnac. Normally, it’s a grape-y, viscous, woody flavor. Especially something 20+ yr old. This feels young and vibrant. Honeysuckle, cedarwood, and jasmine. It’s more like a Lowland single malt than Armagnac.
Really unique and worth a try.
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@PBMichiganWolverine I've had a 1990 La Freche and a 2000 La Freche, the 2000 was a private selection by the Houston Bourbon Society, and it's the best Armangac I've tasted to date. La Freche is just a different style than Louis Pibous, more dark fruits, chocolate, and earthy notes. I could see Cognac and even Scotch drinkers preferring the Louis Pibous style, but the La Freche is just more appealing to my American Whiskey palate. Not to take away from the Pibous, I still like it a lot.
@jsk yeah, I think I just used the existing entry here for mine. I defiantly had bought mine before 2019. Not sure what cask though—wasn’t paying attention. If La Freche is better than this, I need to try it. Probably older?
Cask 135 was a 2019 release, private selection from some folks on reddit. So if you purchased your sample a few years ago it may have been a different cask. Same vintage from same producer it's bound to be similar though. I have a bottle of cask 135, but haven't done detailed tasting notes on it yet. Based on early impressions I agree it has more fruit/floral notes than other L'Encantada casks I've tried (particularly La Freche releases, which have been my favorite so far).
@Scott_E vastly different. The major difference is in distillation. Cognac is double distilled in pot stills, while Armagnac is distilled once in columns. So the cognac is more elegant and lighter, Armagnac is heavier and rustic. It’s all personal preference on what you like—-it’s like a Springbank ( more rustic and heavier ) vs Auchentoshan ( lighter and floral )
@PBMichiganWolverine never tried an Armagnac. Any different than Cognac/brandy?
@jonwilkinson7309 @Soba45 this one is worth a try. I think because of the poor distribution and demand, you can get amazing values.
You've tripled my knowledge of Armagnac. And set me off on at least a hour of research...
Ah nice review i hadn't come across independent bottlers of Armagnac bar MoM i think it was