it has found just that in Cyril and Julie Laudet of Laballe.
If Armagnac needed a breath of fresh air…
Domaine Laballe is located in Gascony, in the heart of Bas-Armagnac terroirs, in the Landes region. The Laudet family acquired the estate in 1820 and, since then they have been producing Bas Armagnac with the same know-how. In the ’70s, the family diversified its production with wines: Terroirs Landais and Côtes de Gascogne.
Today, Cyril & Julie Laudet, the 8th generation of the family, manage the vineyard. Their ambition is to perpetuate the family know-how with due respect for traditions while bringing a contemporary touch inherent in their time and their young ages.
Vintage
Armagnacs
Alongside crafting an exciting range of Armagnacs for the bar trade, Laballe also manages an enviable collection of aged stocks going all the way back to 1888. Laballe’s vintage Armagnacs are fabulous spirits loaded with personality. Vintage Armagnac is the result of a single year’s grape harvest. Historically, all Armagnac was sold in this way, with classifications such as VS, VSOP, and XO being a relatively recent innovation. Legally, the minimum age for vintage is 10 years old, however, it’s really at the 20-25+ years when that hard-to-describe, old Brandy characters develop. Often summarized as rancio or described variously as varnish, chestnut, or even umami or soy sauce, these are the characters the cognoscenti covet and seek out.
The youngest of Laballe's 3-12-21 collection, this Armagnac is aged in oak barrels (a quarter of which are new) from the Landes region for a minimum of three years. Distilled from Ugni Blanc, it's a delicious, fine-boned young Bas Armagnac with lovely freshness and yet also good body and texture. It works beautifully as an aperitif Armagnac, on the rocks as well as in cocktails. You could try it in a D'Artagnan (basically a brandy-laced Bucks Fizz), a Sidecar or a Southwest specialty, the Landaise Mule (50ml of Armagnac, 10ml lime juice, over ice, topped with ginger beer).
44.2% ABV. The Rich is aged for a minimum of 12 years in oak barrels from the nearby Landes Forest. Crafted from 80% Ugni Blanc and 20% Baco and distilled in Laballe's wood-fired copper pot, it is a layered, wonderfully balanced and generous Armagnac with deep, earthy nuances of salted caramel, cumin and saffron balanced with fresh, zesty notes of grapefruit and orange peel. The extra layers and texture bode well for after-dinner sipping. Alternatively, this can add complex, spicy oomph to a Sazerac cocktail.
41.6% ABV. With a minimum 21 years of age, this deeply flavoured, expansive Armagnac has all the aromatic complexity and depth that you would expect of great old Bas Armagnac. Over half the blend is drawn from stocks over 30 years old, lending an exceptional depth of flavour and deep spiciness. It is at once both powerful and elegant--a hallmark of Laballe's vintage bottlings--offering layers of wood spice, dried fruits, tobacco, cocoa and a hint of peat smoke, backed by a luxurious, fleshy mouthfeel and serious depth. Best served as a digestif or for sipping after dinner.
