Domaine de Baraillon 1973

Tasting note

Nose

50 years old and you can smell it. Lovely wood aromas fill the nose, but it's certainly not just wood. Fruit notes of dried fruit from oranges and pomelos, for example. Dates and sultanas finish it off. A hint of alcohol also makes for a powerful aroma.

Taste

Fresh peaches, pears and raspberries slowly give way to sultanas and dried figs. Vanilla sticks and rose pralines play with toasted wood and caramelised apple with cinnamon.

Finish

Long and fruity. The bitterness from the wood lasts the longest.

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.