1989 Dartigalongue 24 Year Old Armagnac (500ml)

Dartigalongue, in the Western part of Bas Armagnac, lays claim to being the oldest house in the appellation. The family began to distill in 1813. Their vineyards reside on soils that are more sandy than those in the East of Bas Armaganc. These sandy soils tend to produce grapes with higher acidity, which results in very round spirits with plenty of finesse. The house also employs mostly Gascogne oak (90%) which gives the eau de vie more spice than those aged in majority Limousin oak. It remains a family run operation with production around 60.000 bottles per year.

After tasting three expressions of quite disparate age, to generalise, the house style is fine, elegant and drier than most other Armagnacs we've encountered.

Tasting note: Deep polished copper colour. Amid the opening scents of creme caramel and raisin cake are flashes of balsamic with hints of poached pear and dilute maple syrup in the later stages. A rich, buttery entry develops into a semi sweet, mid weighted profile of vanilla, cocoa and dilute maple syrup followed by a gently spicy, dried fruit burst (think Christmas fruit mince pie). Great balance, fading long with hints of rancio and marzipan. Value buy. 40% Alc./Vol.