Details
The US importer, Heavenly Spirits, has some good information on this bottle. Delord is from the Bas-Armagnac region and fermented/distilled from a combination of 57% Ugni blanc, 16% Colombard, 15% Folle Blanche and 12% Baco grapes. While the bottle is NAS, apart from the Napoleon designation, Heavenly Spirit claims the min age in 10yrs and used 10% Gascon oak barrels. No info given on the other 90%; limousin maybe? Confusingly they also claim the distillation occurs at a low, 52-58C, temp. I thought distillation had to occur above the ethanol boiling point, 78.4C. Maybe they are counting on the difference in evaporation rates between the alcohol and water instead of boiling. Can anyone shed any light on this for me? Either way, they claim this allows more fermentation character to remain in the spirit.
Nose
Fruity blackberries. Balsamic vinegar, savory feel combined with a slight acidity. Candied nuts. Caramel and toasted oats. Bitter orange peel. All notes are present on the initial few whiffs giving it a lot of complexity upfront but there is no evolution or second layer to dig into. Quite good but doesn’t have what it takes to bring it to the next level.
Palate
Near flavorless on the first sip, the notes slowly role out over a few minutes in contrast with the nose. Bitter orange peel shows up with emphasis on bitter. Then caramel and grape must. Balsamic strawberries; less acidity than the vinegar notes on the nose. Bit of oaks shows up late. Lightly sweet and light bodied with an oily texture. Hotter than I would expect for a 10yr 40% spirit. Enjoyable but flawed with more bitterness and heat than I would want.
Finish
Medium and hot. Red hot candies. Slightly tannic and mouth drying. Again hotter than I would like; not upleasent but it dominates any other notes in the finish.
Overall:
Enjoyable but rough around the edges; the nose was good, the palate decent and the finish sub-par. As a first Armagnac this was decent but not something I’d buy again; that said I’d be interested in trying a different bottle from Delord if given the chance.
Rating: 4
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite
10 | Perfect | Perfect
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