Hontambere estate is well known for its terroir-driven approach to armagnac, with a clear focus on single-grape expressions. These two bottlings, Folle Blanche and Colombard, offer a neat side-by-side look at how grape variety alone can deeply shape style, structure and balance within the same estate.
Hontambere Armagnac 2013 Folle Blanche 49,8%
This Tenareze armagnac is a 100% Folle Blanche, distilled in 2013 and aged for 11 years in a single cask (#A24) in a dry cellar. It was bottled in November 2024 at 49,8%.
Colour: Old gold, hay lights. Irregular heavy tears.
Nose: Heathery at first, with light honeyed tones. Rustic nutty notes on dried walnut. A touch of orchard fruit, reminding me of another kind of Folle Blanche a bit further north (but double-distilled, like one from JL Pasquet). Fresh white pepper notes as well.
Palate: Vivid palate, with a nice balance between clean fruitiness (still on orchard notes) and cider apple bitterness. Light verjus-like impressions in the aftertaste. A bright profile, with very little rusticity, which (imho) brings it closer to a cognac style, something like a Michel Forgeron 100% FB from the 2010s, but without the floral side.
Last Notes: Gentle infused notes with air, mainly on verbena, alongside a vegetal touch of parsley and honeysuckle. Back on the palate, pleasant candied lemon notes, lifted by hints of bergamot. It ends on fresh liquorice and mint.
Precise, fresh, and lightly rustic. Very interesting to rediscover armagnac this way. Of course, it can’t match the depth of a 30yo, but the DNA is clearly there.
86/100
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.
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