Armagnac Review: Château de Pellehaut 28 Year 1989/2017 100% Ugni-Blanc

Not a whole lot to say about Pellehaut that I haven't already said. This is from an earlier era when they were primarily distilling ugni-blanc grapes as opposed to folle-blanche. This is another purchase from Astor Wines in NYC that is currently unavailable, though it seems like they've gotten multiple parcels of 1989 vintage casks with progressively more recent bottling dates, so something similar may show up sooner or later.

This brandy was distilled from 100% ugni-blanc grapes in 1989, filled in a new oak cask, then bottled at 49.9% without coloring, chill filtration, or additives.

Château de Pellehaut 28 Year 1989/2017 100% Ugni-Blanc

Nose: lots of spicy oak, cedar, caramel/maple syrup, dried fruits, floral vanilla, dark chocolate, a little savory. After adding a few drops of water it gets softer and sweeter with more balanced oak, the maple syrup turns into honey, and the savory notes integrates with the wood.

Taste: balanced grape and cask sweetness up front, moderately tannic and spicy oak with dried fruit in the background beginning in the middle, turning bittersweet at the back with a little heat. After dilution it becomes sweeter throughout, the oak takes a more balanced back seat, and the grape notes pop more at the back.

Finish: long but fairly simple - spicy oak tannins, background grape sweetness, and a savory fade out

There are a lot of similarities between this and the slightly younger folle-blanche cask I reviewed earlier. I think the balance it tipping towards the oak here, so it reads as a little less expressive to me. It really makes me wonder what the even older 1979 vintage bottle I have will be like, but we'll have to find out later.

Armagnac Review: Château de Pellehaut 23 Year 1994/2017 100% Folle-Blanche

There are not many big players in the American armagnac market, but Astor Wines in New York has put themselves at the center of it, alongside K&L Wines on the other coast. They regularly have a significant selection of brandies and bring in their own cask picks with some regularity. Unfortunately this particular cask has sold out, but there are always new picks available and their quality has reportedly been pretty consistent.

This brandy was distilled from 100% folle-blanche grapes in 1994, filled into a new oak cask, then bottled in 2017 at 48.2% without coloring, chill filtration, or additives.

Château de Pellehaut 23 Year 1994/2017 100% Folle-Blanche

Nose: strong oak and maple syrup, sweet grapes, honey, nougat, vanilla, nutmeg, allspice, fresh hay. After adding a few drops of water it becomes softer but more muddled, with less well-defined oak, but more unripe fruit/grape notes come out along with something dry and almost grainy

Taste: strong barrel and grape sweetness up front, backed by a significant amount of oak that becomes syrupy and more tannic with something savory in the background as it moves towards the back, and a bump of fruity esters and orange peel around the middle. After dilution the sweetness remains strong, the oak fades a bit and integrates into the whole, and the savory note at the back turns into a slightly acidic citrus/fruit note alongside gentler tannins.

Finish: rather long - oak tannins, syrupy grape sweetness, spicy/acidic prickles, a savory fade out

This one took me a while to wrap my head around it. It definitely requires some time in the glass to open up and I needed multiple tastings before I could work my way through the oak to get at the other components. With that said, I actually found this more in balance than some of the younger casks I tried, largely because the sweetness has expanded to a point where it is not overwhelmed by the more bitter tannins. My only complaint is that I wish the savory character I found in the finish had been more assertive as I feel like that would have made for a more interesting and complex experience, but it's a fairly small quibble. Water definitely helps to soften the oak, but you have to like the acidic fruit character that pops out. Overall this was a quality cask and a good pick.

Armagnac Review: Chateau de Pellehaut 17 Year 1996/2013 Folle-Blanche

A bit of trivia about Château de Pellehaut is that they used to produce entirely from ugni blanc grapes until 1996, but turned entirely to folle-blanche in 1997. This particular armagnac represents the brief transitional period while they were using both, but keeping the wines and distillates separate.

This brandy was distilled in 1996 from folle-blanche grapes, filled into new oak casks, then bottled in 2013 at 50.4% without coloring or chill filtration for K&L Wines.

Thanks to Florin for this sample.

Chateau de Pellehaut 17 Year 1996/2013 Folle-Blanche

Nose: slightly sharp oak comes first with richer grape notes in the background plus some vanilla bean ice cream. After adding a few drops of water it remains largely unchanged, but the vanilla is more prominent plus some pineapple/orange and cocoa notes come out

Taste: big oak and grape sweetness up front, a syrupy thickness around the middle, becomes more bitter/bittersweet with big oak and some creaminess towards the back. After dilution the sweetness is stronger up front, the oak turns into cedar in the middle, and the bitter turn at the back is more aggressive.

Finish: Fairly hot, balanced oak and grape, a little orange peel

This was kind of disappointing. I had read a lot of really positive reviews as this release helped cement Pellehaut's reputation in the U.S. Might just be that I sat on the sample for too long, but water at least got it closer to those expectations.

For a more favorable perspective, see MAO's review from the same bottle.

Armagnac Review: Château de Pellehaut 15 Year 2001/2016 Folle-Blanche for K&L Wines

Château de Pellehaut seems to be one of the more well-known armagnac houses, at least in the States. Located in the Ténarèze region in the middle of Armagnac, it follows the traditional practice of distilling their wines in a mobile still. The output is at a rather mild 54%, which helps to explain both their robust flavors and the often low-ish strength of their single casks. They fill all of their fresh spirit into 420 liter new oak casks.

This particular cask was distilled from wine made entire from folle-blanche grape in 2001, filled into a new oak cask, then bottled in 2016 at 48.6% without coloring or chill filtration for K&L Wines.

Thanks to Florin for this sample.

Chateau de Pellehaut 15 Year 2001/2016 Folle-Blanche for K&L

Nose: rich berry and juicy grape, wild honey, moderate but not overbearing oak, a little cedar, vanilla, citrus peel, baking spices, peanut brittle, a thread of wood smoke/incense. After adding a few drops of water it gets flatter and loses most of its intensity except for the oak, with the fruitier brandy notes becoming grain.

Taste: lots of grape, berry, and honey sweetness starting up front and continuing through, orange peel in the background, some heat and a savory note in the middle, fading into moderate oak and grape tannins. After dilution almost all of the heat disappears, the oak becomes less tannic, and some raisin (rather than grape) notes come out around the back, but the overall structure remains about the same.

Finish: balanced fruit and oak, tannins linger

As Bozzy noted, this is very much a bourbon, and even more specifically a wheated bourbon, drinker's armagnac. It doesn't have the spiciness that you would expect from rye bourbons, but the balance of sweetness, fruit, and oak are basically spot-on. I was a little disappointed by how much the aromas faded with water, but if you leave it alone they're all good.

At the $50 it went for retail, I think this pretty handily beats most comparably priced bourbons as long as your expectations are set for brandy rather than whiskey. It's not the most complex thing, but it definitely hits all the right notes.

Armagnac Review: Delord 25 Year

If you go looking for older armagnac in the States, odds are that you will end up finding something from Delord. They're one of the few nearly ubiquitous armagnacs in the U.S. and offer a large number of age-dated and vintage releases at seemingly attractive price points.

Delord was founded by one of the mobile distillers of the region in 1893. His sons turned it into a permanent operation in 1932 with an estate in the Bas Armagnac region. They distill from a mixture of ugni blanc, colombard, baco, and folle-blanche grapes that are vinified separately and then distilled using both continuous and batch stills. The continuous still distillate is primarily used for spirits destined to age for a significant amount of time while the double distilled spirit is primarily used for younger expressions.

Thanks to Florin for this sample.

Delord 25 Year

Nose: balanced between raisin and sharp oak, some creamy vanilla, herbal, musty chalk/cardboard, floral pink bubblegum, and caramel. After adding a few drops of water the oak becomes a bit softer and lets the raisins shine more, but the overall structure is largely unchanged.

Taste: bittersweet throughout, grape notes underneath up front, slowly transitioning into almost pure syrup-y oak tannins with a little bit of caramel at the back. After dilution the bitterness retreats significantly and the grape notes are more clear up front, but the overall structure is largely unchanged.

Finish: dominated by tannic oak with generic brandy notes in the background and an artificial edge that I associate with spirits that have been tinkered with

I am not a fan of this armagnac. While it is an excellent value on its face - a quarter century old from an old house - it feels like too much has been done to the spirit to make up for inadequate or over-active casks. Like too many spirits these days, it feels engineered for a price point rather than to display what Delord is capable of. Alternatively, it could be created to capture drinkers who believe that older spirits are inherently oak-driven. I'm very thankful to have seen just enough skeptical reviews to keep myself from buying a whole bottle, as it was very tempting when I saw it available locally.

With all that said, if you're a bigger fan of bourbon this might click for you. The overall flavor structure is somewhat similar, albeit with grapes instead of grain, and the density of the aromas is very strong for the strength of the spirit. Just maybe try to find it at a bar before you spring for an entire bottle.

For two slightly different takes on samples from the same bottle, check out MAO and SKU.