Grape of The Art Seailles 1988 50%

Back at Seailles, this time for an older armagnac (32yo). Hope to taste another great Tenareze with this one bottled at 50%. 

Colour: Dark amber, copper lights. Irregular heavy

Nose: Very inviting nose on raisins and almond paste. A tad buttery on pastry notes, especially on pasteis de nata. Hints of vanilla too. Great bourbon shades on violet syrup and muesli cereal scents. Measured oaky tones.

Mouth: Oily texture, dry aftertaste. Nice balance between fruitiness and oakiness at first. Caramelized plum and apple aromas followed by precious wood notes. A tad of balsamic shades too. Dry but generous mouth length on cider apple notes.

Last Notes: Ample coconut powder scents with air. A little flowery on jasmine now. It reminds me a lot of some sherry bomb whiskies, with nice rancioted notes on walnut vinegar and raisins. A tad of exotic fruits, mainly on young banana and tinned peach. Back on the palate, you find heavy roasted notes on coffee beans and roasted hazelnuts. A wee freshness on cardamom and still some balsamic tones in the aftertaste.

An elegant armagnac with original shades, but I miss a bit of funkiness to reach something higher than 88. Curiously, I preferred the “young” Seailles 2000 to this 1988.