Château Laballe Bas Armagnac 1982

Great, aged Armagnac can convey a deep sense of place in a manner that is rare in the spirits world, and Laballe’s fabulous examples are loaded with personality, fine textures and flavours that echo across the palate. Distilled in the domaine’s 1923 wood-fired copper still, these Armagnacs then age in Chêne Noir Gascon—410-litre barrels made of oak from the nearby Landes forest—until they are bottled for sale. The extended maturation within this thick-grained oak imparts plenty of tannin and spice, giving Laballe’s vintage Armagnac its distinctive style., There is no addition of colour, and all the spirits are bottled brut de fût—unfiltered and at their natural alcohol level—often from a single barrel.

100% Baco grape. Bottled in September 2021 from barrel ‘Dame Jeanne n°R4’, this was another great Armagnac vintage, where good yields resulted in a harvest with great acidity. Laballe’s ’82 offers delicacy and elegance. It opens with complex aromatics of Tokaji and apricot, with light peat and herbal notes. The palate is expansive and superbly refined, unfurling in layers of dried fruit, roasted nuts, citrus and vanilla cream tapering to a long finish with well-integrated tannins.