Armagnac . TastingOn 20 August 2019 by admin

This time my post will have slightly different formula. Visiting a magnificent bar (about which later) located in the city center of Warsaw, with a really rich offer, I decided to conduct a spectacular clash of flavors. I selected Lauvia (first vintage armagnac on the blog) and Marquis de Montesquiou (so-called fine armagnac).

Lauvia 1990

The history of the brand goes back to 1938, so not as far as my previous armagnacs. The distillery is located in the heart of the Bas-Armagnac region. Producers pride themselves on a close and long-lasting relationship with selected vine growers whose parameters meet certain brand criteria. The production of armagnac in this distillery uses both fresh barrels that give away a lot of wood aromas, and older ones that shape a more complex palette of flavors.

According to the Lauvia 1990 label, which I had the opportunity to try, it is an 18-year-old armagnac. This particular one was bottled in August 26, 2008. Unfortunately, by the time this entry was prepared, I did not received  information from the producer about grapes used in production.

Marquis de Montesquiou

Not much information can be found on official Marquis de Montesquiou website. Interesting thing is that Montesquiou family rooted in the Gascony around 1040. Therefore, there must be a lot of tradition in their products. The master of the cellar, Mr. Eric Durand, creates the final product by mixing distillates disposed in over 1000 barrels. 

Unfortunately, the Marquis de Montesquiou label does not reveal to  the age of distillates and grapes used to create this fine armagnac. Due to  lack of a legal definition of the fine armagnac, we also do not know what are the minimum age requirements for this class. Thus, the taste tells me however, that it is a mix of 5-10 year old distillates. Also in this case I was not able to get any information directly from the producer.

Tasting

At first, Marquis de Montesquiou

Nose: not very volatile, plums, raisins, vanilla.

Mouth: in the foreground dried plums, dried apricots, slightly raisin, sweet, slightly bland, ripe peaches.

Finish: short, alcohol is not well hidden, dark chocolate and tea appear.

My rating: 5/10

And now Lauvia:

Nose: much more volatile than previous one, dried figs, apricots and raisins, fresh peaches, clearly wood.

Mouth: full, round taste, there is wood, there is leather and spicyness, apricots and raisins join, initially sweet, it becomes dry.

Finish: long and durable, definitely dry, strong tannins, wood, cocoa.

My rating: 6.5 / 10

This tasting session won (which was of course anticipated due to the different categories of armagnacs) Lauvia, which perfectly captures the beauty of armagnac. This is undoubtedly a taste that you can think about, try to break down its structure. A very nice aspect of comparing two armagnacs during one tasting session was alternating between them and discovering the differences.

Warsaw armagnac map

I did this tasting at Cocktail Bar Max & Dom Whiskey at 16/22 Krucza Street. This is currently the best bar with armagnacs I have visited. They have several armagnac to choose from a whole range of other spirits. I had the pleasure to talk to a very competent and knowledgeable bartender.

After tasting, I visited a cellar-like room containing a huge display of whisky (several hundred bottles, also from closed distilleries). An impressive place !