Domaine des Cassagnoles 5 yo

I had this little tipple at Eyre Brothers, and having read quite a bit about armagnac in recent weeks, decided that it was worth writing a full tasting note about. Now I'll have to go back to the East Room and taste my birth year armagnac again - properly.

This is one of the cheaper armagnacs. It retails for about £29 a bottle at the Whisky Exchange (yes, buy your spirits from them please - they really care about the quality of alcohol). Like whisky though, quite often the cheap ones are still good ones. I enjoyed a snifter of this quite a bit, partly because it suited the food (simple but good tapas) I was eating quite well. It was listed on the menu as 6 year old (VSOP), but I'm fairly sure this vineyard doesn't do a 6 year old expression.

Domaine des Cassagnoles 5 yo
Single producer armagnac - Ténarèze (Gondrin)
41% ABV
Red brown

Nose: Chocolate cake, white grape, salt caramel.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, clingy like a good port.
Tasting: Sweet. Limes, green tea, prunes, apricots.
Finish: Medium length. Lime peel, orange blossom.

My trusty reference book (Armagnac, by Charles Neal) rates Domaine des Cassagnoles as a "average producer", and their 5 year old expression as "commercially correct". Talk about damning with faint praise. I suppose that this could well be true when rating it in comparison to great armagnacs, but on its own merits it's quite enjoyable.

The producer, Domaine des Cassagnoles, is in a small town called Gondrin in the Ténarèze producing region. It's run by Janine and Gilles Baumann, who've been making armagnac since 1974. The sole grape used is Ugni Blanc, the same grape they use to make Cotes des Gascogne white wine, their vineyard's main produce. On their website, they list 4 armagnacs available - 5 years, 10 years, Hors d'Age (20 years) and a "blanche" eau de vie, for cocktails.

Vineyard size: 65 hectares
Chai: Organised, cement and dirt floor, humid.
Soil: argilo-calcaires (clay with a high proportion of limestone).
Barrels: Gascon, Vosges, Limousin.
Grapes: Ugni Blanc (100%)

- from Armagnac, by Charles Neal.