Veuve Goudoulin Bas-Armagnac 40yo 40%

VEUVE GOUDOULIN BAS ARMAGNAC 40YO 40%

From Courrensan with age

After a few very old vintages, it’s time to try a venerable blend from Veuve Goudoulin. 40%. Bas-Armagnac. Let’s go!

Colour: Dark amber, gold lights. Medium regular tears.

Nose: Cooked fruit notes with a nice freshness on cardamom at first. It feels old, but it could be quite hard to guess that’s a 40yo spirit just by the nose. Solar profile. Licorice and almond paste scents. Burnt orange peel too. Hints of oak influence in the background.

Palate: A little oily. Lingering oaky structure. Shy candied citrus notes then. Great spiced aromas, mainly on black pepper and caraway. I was expecting something a bit more fruity, regarding the nose profile.

Last Notes: A bit more elegant with air, but it remains quite oaky. Coconut and nutmeg powder scents. Another kind of freshness, more on eucalyptus and menthol. The palate is a tad too imprecise to deliver all the complexity that a 40yo brandy can give. Hints of raisins, tinned plums and dark chocolate aromas. It ends on pine wood and liquid vanilla notes.

There is a real gap between the nose and the palate. On one hand, an elegant perfume, as a teaser for a fragile and delicate armagnac (around 88-89). And on the other hand, an okay-ish palate, with a lack of texture and an excessive wood influence (81-82). As if it had been blended just by the nose. Not that easy to score…

My very subjective note: 85/100

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