Ryan's Review
Today we're looking at an Armagnac distilled by a very small and out-of-production house called Lous Pibous. This Armagnac is distilled from 100% Folle Blanche and aged entirely in new oak barrels. It was bottled by L'Encantada, a small company still in their youth having only planted their roots in 2011. Young isn't always bad, though, especially when your main goal is to source excellent eaux-de-vie, age and bottle it unfiltered and at cask-strength. It's hard to argue with that. This particular bottle comes from a cask that was selected along with two other Lous Pibous' by a small group of cask-strength spirit lovers who have appropriately named themselves "The Brandy Brothers". They were gracious enough to share the selections with a private group and so here we have cask #124, a 23 year old bottled at 52.5%.
L'encantada Lous Pibous 1993 23 year Barrel #124
52.5%
N: Caramel, stewed fruits, leather and fragrant oak
T: Sweet caramel, brown sugar, and milk chocolate up front. Followed by some thick wine notes. Berries. Strawberry jam. Really full rich flavors. Followed by a wave of dense oak and drying spices. Slightly syrupy mouthfeel. Swims well, brings the sweet fruits to the forefront.
F: Finishes on a spicy note, bitter orange peels, and some astringent oak notes.
This is certainly not lacking in flavor or mouthfeel. It hits the palate with waves of complex sweetness and that lovely array of thick chewy fruits on the mid-palate. That's the highlight for me, and it's a big highlight. What follows is a bit more oak dominant then I prefer, with a rather spicy and dry finish, that must be the extended aging in new oak. I think I prefer this one with a bit of water to bring out more of the fruits. All-in-all this is an interesting mix of complex elegance with big brutishness. It's a very tasty bourbon. I mean armagnac. I mean bourbognac. A great value at its original retail of $75.99. Only available on the secondary market now, and it'll cost you.
B+
No comments:
Post a Comment