Domaine de Baraillon 1958

Tasting note

Nose

Hints of leather and chestnuts on the nose. You can taste age and maturation. The wood aromas are evident and provide a mildly bitter nose. Puffed chestnuts and something of beef stew. Nicely spicy and very refined. Firm aroma that still seems very fragile.

Taste

This tastes, how could it be otherwise, like old armagnac. A rustic taste where you imagine yourself in the vineyards with the last grapes still hanging on the vines. Dehydrated and slightly oxidised. Like a god in France I think was made up when they had this in the glass. Delicious toast with foie gras on the side and the afternoon is complete.

Finish

You'd wish the aftertaste would last for hours, because really, you don't want to part with the glass. Dried fruit is what remains in the mouth, but also in the empty glass.

The distillery

The Domaine de Baraillon is located just outside Lannemaignan in the Bas-Armagnac. The pretty little estate is surrounded by sunflower, maize and wheat fields and, of course, vineyards. Driving past the Domaine, you wouldn't even know that Armagnac is produced here, were it not for a large barrel on the side of the road with their name written on it. 

Claverie's Armagnacs are a combination of two properties: 4 hectares owned by Patriach Paul's sister in Le Freche and 12 hectares around his house. All vineyards are full of the three major grape varieties, Baco, Colombard and Ugni Blanc. Until 2012 they used the Loubere distillery in Labastide d'Armagnac, but in 2012 they bought their own stills in which they now turn their wines into spirits. The fresh eau de vie normally goes into 5,000-litre casks before being transferred to smaller barrels. Both new and old barrels are used for this purpose. The barrels are regularly aerated to promote oxidation. The oldest stocks date back to the late 19th century and it occasionally seems as if time has stood still at Domaine de Baraillon. Tradition and quality are therefore highly valued by the family.