Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Younger Armagnacs from Baraillon and Darroze
Today I taste two Armagnacs from two of my favorite producers.
Domaine de Baraillon 10 year old, 2003 42% abv ($53)
Domaine de Baraillon has blown me away with some of their older vintages. This is by far the youngest Baraillon I've tasted. It was bottled for K&L.
This has a really nice nose with honey and floral notes. The palate is sweet and fruity and the finish has raisins. With the sweet and fruity notes, it's more like a Cognac than a typical Armagnac.
This is light and sweet and not very complex but totally enjoyable.
Darroze Les Grand Assemblages 20 year old, 43% ($100)
Darroze is the most prominent independent bottler in Armagance. Most of their bottlings are vintage bottlings which disclose the (usually very small) distillery. This is age stated but there is no distillery listed so it is likely a blend of Armagnacs from different distilleries.
The nose is spicy with a touch of fruit slipped in between the spicy notes. On the palate, it's rich and spicy with a touch of sweetness, a typical Armagnac mix. The finish surprised me with Christmas spices, especially ground ginger but also some clove at the end of the finish.
As with the Baraillon, this Armaganc is not overly complex, but fun to drink with a nice balance of sweet and spicy notes.
Thanks to Funky Tape for the samples.
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2 comments:
Yea, the Baraillon tip toes that cognac line really nicely. It's awesome stuff in my book.
The Darroze has been open a couple years and the more it breathes the more I get what you also tasted, namely the rich oakey Christmas stuff, esp nutmeg.
One of my best finds in recent years was a Darroze Reserve 'Special for $40 which now retail for $150. Love it.
Thanks for the reviews! I believe you left a "b" out of "assemblages", which means blend.
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