Hontambere Armagnac 2008 Colombard 53,3%

This second Tenareze armagnac is made from Colombard, distilled in December 2008. A 17yo single cask (#C1) aged in a dry cellar. 

Colour: Amber, gold lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Clean fruity notes on raisins and cooked plum. Hints of pumpkin pie scents. Warm spiced notes on ras-al-anouth and cumin. A tad of freshness, mainly on orange blossom.

Palate: Oily texture, carrying a bag of pastry notes. Full of chocolate notes then. Indeniable oak influence in the aftertaste, with heavy peppery notes, mainly on cardamom and black pepper. Not as precise as expected.

Last Notes: More on leathery and nutty notes with air. A bit dusty. Hints of coconut powder. I’m less seduced by this kind of wood integration by Hontambere. Varnish wood, resinous shades. Back on the palate, you get intense hazelnut notes. It ends on strong coffee notes.

Bold and rustic kind of armagnac. I miss precision and oak integration here.

My very subjective note: 83/100