Domfrontais quartet

Hints of Normandy again

shades of pear

Column-distilled calvados from the Domfront area, so made with a minimum of 30% pear cider.

Comte Louis de Lauriston 1963 42% (2020 bottling)

1963. The Beatles haven’t released A Hard Day’s Night yet. The Porsche 911 is still supposed to be named 901. And my dad isn’t even born yet. 57 years of ageing under the rainy, quiet climate of southern Normandy. 42%. Let’s go!

Colour: Mahogany, orange lights. Irregular medium tears.

Nose: Great tea-ish shades at first, mainly breakfast tea. Quite minty. Lactic nuances, giving peach yoghurt impressions. A tad of balsamic notes too. Deep rancio.

Palate: Oily texture, dominated again by Intense liquorice notes at first. A nice kick of acidity in the aftertaste, which is always a good surprise for such an old spirit. Buttery and pastry-like shades. But overall, you’ve got a gigantic liquorice note. A little wood astringency in the background.

Last Notes: Rounder with air, with toffee and caramel sweets notes. Back on the palate, you get precious wood notes and liquorice, liquorice and liquorice again. It ends on pistachio and bourbon vanilla.

Rustic and very aromatic. I only miss a bit of balance and wood integration to score it higher. If you’re a liquorice chewer, that’s a tailor-made dram.

88+/100

Comte Louis de Lauriston 1995 Parcellaire 45,4% (Nov. 2022 bottling)

Lauriston again, but this time with a parcellar bottling. This 1995 comes from Saint-Fraimbault, so the most southern part of Domfrontais, close to Mayenne. Let’s go!

Colour: Dark amber, gold lights. Irregular medium tears.

Nose: Delicious honeyed tones at first. Pear stew. Ample rustic shades, mainly sawdust and freshly emptied cognac cask. Delicate floral notes of dandelion and jasmine.

Palate: Ample pastry notes of vanilla cream and croissant. Obvious apple pie notes then. Hints of freshness on cardamom. Damp cellar notes and a wet rancio, with seaweed and humid undergrowth aromas. A little acidity in the aftertaste.

Last Notes: Bright profile, with a few malted notes and obvious orchard tones. Fresh medicinal sides, like cloves and menthol. Back on the palate, you get tinned pear aromas enhanced by strong peppery notes. It ends on quince stew and pink bay pepper.

Lovely fresh profile. Not the most complex Domfrontais ever, but an easy pick for shuuure.

87/100

Swell de Spirits Swell & Co #8 48yo Domfrontais René Guesdon 48,5%

Selected at René Guesdon – La Cave Normande, this very rare 48yo Domfrontais (80 bottles) was bottled at cask strength in July 2024. Let’s go!

Colour: Mahogany, red lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Ample sherry cask and balsamic notes at first. Heavily rancio-driven. Strong oak impressions too. Red berries jam. A tad of cider apple notes in the background. Not the easiest to read on the nose, but maybe it’s just gasping for air.

Palate: Ample toasted notes of roasted bread slice and burnt almonds. Fresh IPA aromas in the aftertaste, with a distinct rustic bitterness. Overripe fruitiness, bordering on some Foursquare expressions.

Last Notes: It turns more armagnac-like with air, gaining oak structure but also nice old red wine evolution notes. A bit of floral notes too, mainly violet blossom. Back on the palate, you get dry nutty notes and ripe wood aromas. It ends on cocoa powder.

Quite deep, but I miss precision and wood integration here.

86/100

Lemorton 1989 40% (2024 bottling)

Another Lemorton here, but this time a bit younger.

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

Nose: Ample quince jam notes. Exquisite. Rustic shades, almost screaming column-distilled. Musky farm scents, enhanced by heady floral notes of lilac and rosewater. A touch of lychee in the background.

Palate: The full bakery inside the glass. Pain au raisin, fresh bread dough, toasted sesame seeds. Very fresh and camphory. Still stunned by how it can keep that much insolence with age. White pepper, almond pear.

Last Notes: Delicate floral notes again, with subtle orange blossom nuances. Vivid juicy citrus notes then. Pleasant bright profile. Back on the palate, you get tinned pear notes and a hint of soapy tones.

A truly beautiful Domfrontais profile, but I miss depth to score it higher.