Birth-year Armagnacs

At the East Room, the Pretty Lady, Yogababe and I ordered Armagnac brandies bottled in the years of our birth. It's not a great idea to reveal which years those are on the internet though, so unfortunately I'll have to hide them when posting these tasting notes. Those that know us will know which years they are.

1. Red Hare's Chateau de Ravignan

Nose: Grappa, myrrh, lemon thyme and raisins. Very Middle Eastern combination - doesn't smell like brandy normally does.
Tasting: Sweet and smooth, sultanas, hard fruits, a tinge of camphor.

2. The Pretty Lady's Marcel Trepout

Nose: Raisins, herby and buttery. I thought I tasted salted popcorn at first, but got a bit confused after that. More Italian than Middle Eastern, if I'm selecting foods as my reference points.
Tasting: Sweet sour and tangy. Sultanas and hard fruits, perhaps more pear than the Chateau de Ravignan.

3. Yogababe's Laberdolive

Nose: Dark chocolate and figs. Creamy, reminded me of a dairy, but the milk was somehow quite separate from the chocolate. Yogababe disagreed.
Tasting: Sweet, but not as sweet as the Chateau de Ravignan. Spicy cinnamon, some apple. I think the nose was more interesting than the tasting, but by this time my palate was fairly tired.

The armagnacs were delicious, and I enjoyed the novelty of testing out the distillate produced in one's birth year. Nevertheless, some armagnacs are so much better than others - Yogababe's was the most expensive, and all of us agreed that it was the best, with more flavours and aromas than the other two.

A great digestif - who needs dessert anyway?