St. Agnes XO Grand Reserve 40 Year Old Brandy (700ml)

St Agnes Distillery has released three inimitable expressions of XO to join the widely popular XO 15 Year Old. The quality was instantly recognised, with the XO Grand Reserve 40 Year Old and 20 Year Old both awarded Double Gold at the 2015 Melbourne International Spirits Competition. (The St Agnes XO 15 Year Old was awarded the only Gold medal at the same show). Tasting the collection side by side, the forty has the plushest feel, even topping the incredible 50 year old. With the oldest component distilled in 1970, it's an opulent spirit with all the hallmarks of great Armagnac, yet, despite its four decades, there is still a fine spriteliness amid the depths of fruit-cake, brandy sauce, muscat and sweet spices. The mid palate length is outstanding, and the aftertaste superb. Port-soaked tobacco and a splash of high-end triple sec come through, too, rounding off a luxurious brandy experience. It'd be hard to find a similarly aged Armagnac this good, but you'll need patience with your pour. Let it breathe over fifteen minutes and you'll have a treat for slow contemplation. 43% Alc./Vol

Royal Sydney Distilled Spirit Awards 2024 ~ Trophy ‘Best Distilled Spirit’
Royal Sydney Distilled Spirit Awards 2024 ~ Gold and JJ McWilliam Trophy for ‘Best Brandy’
Tasting Australia Spirit Awards 2024 ~ Gold and Trophy ‘Best Brandy’
Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards 2024 ~ Gold and Trophy ‘Best Brandy’

Other reviews... At 40 years in the cask, you’d expect to see the oak taking over from the underlying grape spirit, and this certainly expresses more woodiness than its younger siblings. However, the integration is still spectacular, with that same creamy softness letting you know not to be afraid of the big, bad age. Rum and raisin ice cream on sticky date pudding with a splash of Grand Marnier comes to mind, and as you would hope from a spirit of this age, you could spend ages just nosing before feeling the need to take a sip. The oak certainly starts to dominate on the palate with a powerful through-line of aromatic tannin. This is an end-of-the-night drink, to be sure, as it would be hard to go backwards from this powerful oak, but again, the texture and candied orange sweetness are there to hold it in check. Superb. 97 points - Fred Siggins, winecompanion.com

First tasted 2015... Deep copper colour showing considerable legs. Mild shellac in the opening gradually gives way to cracked walnuts, cocoa and creme caramel evolving scents of cedar and rancio with a freshness that belies its age. Concentrated, energetic and keenly balanced after decades in oak, this offers deep flavours of dates, raisin cake, cocoa, cigar box plus hints of caramel at the finish; Toblerone bar, rancio and late dried fruits linger in the aftertaste. The persistence of flavour is quite astonishing. A masculine-styled and superbly integrated brandy to rival Armagnac's finest. World class. 96 points