Authentic quartet

A bunch of grape-based things

Authentic bottlings

Or 3 Authentic Spirits and 1 Amateur Spirit to be precise…

Authentic Spirits Pinole 1986 45.4%

100% Baco, Bas-Armagnac, 45.4%. Let’s go!

Colour: Mahogany, red lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Precious wood notes at first. Nice vinous shades, something like very old Tawny Port notes. Warm spice scents and resinous shades then, a bit like a high-ester Jamaican rum. A tad of perceptible sugariness in the background.

Palate: Angular dryness on pinewood and black pepper. A few exotic notes then, mostly raw pineapple. Ample woody aromas, with a heavy tannin structure. It ends on coconut powder.

Last Notes: A bit more refined with air. Bourbon vanilla, fresh paint, chocolate meringue. Breakfast tea. Back on the palate, you still get a great tannin structure. A bit fresher now, with eucalyptus and menthol notes.

Massive Bas-Armagnac, with distinct rustic shades. A certain kind of Armagnac, but definitely not mine.

85/100

Amateur Spirit Bourdilet 1979 49.5%

Disclaimer: As I was involved in the selection process of this armagnac, I only rate that one for fun.

An unseen Ténarèze estate here: Bourdilet. 1979 and 100% Ugni blanc. Let’s go!

Colour: Dark amber, orange lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Heady citrus notes at first. A bit of toasted scents, mainly on grilled bread and roasted sesame seeds. Hints of floral notes, more on the dry side like potpourri. A bit shy and sharp, grasping for air.

Palate: Following the nose’s path, hints of freshness on candied ginger and orange blossom. Oily with a bit of dryness in the aftertaste. A tad of chalky notes too. Classic Ténarèze. Maybe a bit sharp, but I get quite a nice balance for my Cognac-lover palate.

Last Notes: Elegant and bright nose with air. Violet and lilac scents. A bit dusty in the background, but you mostly get yellow fruits like candied apricots. Gentle honeyed waves too. Back on the palate, a great peak of acidity is carrying fresh cherry notes. Nice nougat sweets aftertaste. It ends on raisin and plum liquor.

Rustic kind of Ténarèze, but nicely counterbalanced by a great freshness. Can’t rate that one like others, as I’ve been involved in the selection process (many thanks again, Aurélien). But I’ll give you a probable note.

Discover the selection process here

88/100

Authentic Spirits Famille Duluc Lot 70 46.1%

56yo GC from Touzac, which brings back good old memories of this terroir. 46,1%. Let’s go!

Colour: Mahogany, orange lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Beautiful acidulous aromas, with a full plate of strawberry stew. Very elegant nose. For this age, blindly, I’d probably go for a Petite Champagne, due to the immediate fruitiness. Gentle hesperidean notes melted into some kind of earthiness, close to a famous Hermès perfume. Candied sherry scents. Hints of oxidative shades. Promising.

Palate: Extra-oily with a delicious acidulous aftertaste. There’s some chalk in Touzac, isn’t there? Strawberry stew again, tangerine juice and a heavy (and a little dirty) rancio in the aftertaste. Grande Champagne class.

Last Notes: Ample leathery scents with air. Nice oak integration, not perfect, but a very decent one for a 56yo GC. It remains quite clean and floral. Young pineau fruitiness in the background. Back on the palate, it remains insolent and acidulous, with great orange berlingot sweets aromas. A tad of musky and meaty notes, mostly on beef broth and bay leaf. It ends on fig and cardamom.

Lovely venerable GC. You could ask for a bit more precision and oak integration, but let’s be serious: that’s an easy 90.

Link to my interactive terroirs map

90+/100

Authentic Spirits Famille Duluc Napoléon 70%

Touzac and Duluc again. But way younger. 8yo+, 70%. I heard Bonaparte doing a backflip in his grave. Needless to say that’s a cask-strength one. Let’s go!

Colour: Orange, hay lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Massive heathery scents. Clean and sharp apple notes. Vegetal shades on chives and citrus thyme. Obviously zesty. Rich and sharp at the same time, a bit like a grand-cru Riesling. Shy honey notes in the background.

Palate: A bit oily, you can feel a high ABV but certainly not at this kind of level. Nicely spiced, mainly on cumin and pink berries. A few candied notes. Pear stew.

Last Notes: Slightly more woody and nutty with air. Let’s try a few drops of water (even if Cognac isn’t a good swimmer at all, unlike some other spirits). Even more on nutty shades now, with obvious dry walnut scents. Back on the palate, you get something a bit fruitier but with a counter-intuitively higher alcohol perception. It ends on salted-butter caramel and rosemary.

Very interesting choice to bottle this kind of stuff. Quite bold but quite nicely done too. Maybe it could meet an optimum proof around 65/66% with a slow dilution (month-wise).