ZN09 Chateau de Gaube 1966 45,8%

This bottling comes from Château de Gaube, a historic Bas-Armagnac estate (that you find in Darroze range, for example), and was selected by ZN09 Spirits in Grosperrin’s cellars. Distilled in 1966 and aged for 56 years, this Armagnac spent most of its life in cask before being bottled at 45.8%, without additives.

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

Nose: Opens on exotic fruits. Heady leathery notes and a strong nutty rancio. Candied citrus follows, with lingering chocolate aromas in the background. There’s also a hint of freshness hiding underneath, suggesting potential acidulous notes.

Palate: Extra-oily texture. Caramel sweets and toffee dominate the attack, followed by orange zest jam. The tannin structure is present and solid, though I would have liked it to be a bit more integrated. The finish brings coconut and nutmeg powder.

Last notes: With air, the profile becomes more floral, mainly on violet and orange blossom. Slight fragility appears. Coconut powder, precious woods and plum cake. Back on the palate, tinned prunes and leather re-emerge, ending on black pepper.

A pleasant old Bas-Armagnac with character, but I was expecting something a little more precise and better integrated overall.

My very subjective note: 87+/100