Here’s another L’Encantada review. There’s no shortage of these reviews because there is no shortage of L’Encantada in the States, or at least, that's how is appears to me. So far, L’Encantada has been the most reviewed bottler on this blog. There have only been a handful of selections by private groups and a few Stateside stores so far (around 7 or 8 barrel picks), but more bottles are slated for touchdown in various markets soon, and really, everyone in the American brandy nerd / community groups seems to be enjoying L’Encantada these days...just head over to the Facebook groups or google L’Encantada review...there's no dearth of coverage, discussion, or reviews.
Before I get to the review, I had a few thoughts I wanted to jot down. The first is that I think L’Encantada is taking advantage of the American brandy desert by selling unique, single cask brandies. Not many brandy producers are selling the same product Stateside and I think by and large, L’Encantada's popularity is the result of filling a gaping-wide hole in the American brandy market. There are some other bottlers on American shelves, but there are questions as to sources of distillate, whether its true cask strength, whether it's colored, etc...questions that make spirits geeks waffle on spending $100+ on a particular bottle. What L’Encantada brings to the table is the most transparent brandy available in America.
Which brings me to my second thought, which is that I think L’Encantada, a small, independent bottler, has taken the right approach to selling spirits in the US market, one that has allowed them to flourish and grow in popularity. I believe that L’Encantada's approach could serve as a model for other, small brandy bottlers and producers.
Now, let me elaborate on what I mean by "approach" and "model" because there was some confusion as to what I was trying to convey on my initial draft, likely as a result of trying to pound out a quick post and speaking too generally...After initially attempting to enter the American market with little to no interest, L’Encantada, was approached by a small group of whiskey geeks about purchasing a cask. The purchase was run through a boutique liquor store which also purchased some L’Encantada-bottled brandy. From there, other groups and stores have started working with L’Encantada, and more bottles are on the way (or at least in the works). L’Encantada is developing a great reputation by working with a private groups and boutique liquor stores - the nerds are getting their hands on good brandy and sharing it with people, which is drumming up more curiosity and interest in L’Encantada. It's a form of grassroots marketing that costs L’Encantada nothing, really…and now when a store gets a L’Encantada pick, it sells out instantly…if a group pick hits secondary, it flips for double the initial cost.
So when I talk about L’Encantada's "approach," or their "model" (which appears to be more incidental than intentional based on conversations with people possessing intimate knowledge of L’Encantada's operations), what I am saying is that rather than spending a significant amount of money on marketing and focusing on portfolio-specific products, small brandy producers or bottlers could instead work with private spirits groups and boutique liquor stores, sell unique products (i.e single casks, special blends, etc.), and churn up demand for their products...if you have a good distillate, let the nerds be your marketing mouthpiece. Ultimately, I think L’Encantada is showing that working with private groups and stores can be a successful approach to selling bottles in the American market as opposed to taking other, more traditional approaches to increasing demand.
One caveat I want to point out (which is purely subjective and solely based on my opinion) is that working with private groups before stores might be the best course of action. Aside from vetting the quality of a particular spirit before selecting it, the groups are entrenched in the spirits community and are in the best position to speak to the community about the spirit's quality. Surely there will always be bias, but people tend to lend more credibility to information from someone hyping something not for sale (i.e. private group picks) as opposed to someone hyping something they are trying to sell (i.e. store picks). I have seen more than a few store-picked brandies just languish on shelves. Plus, L’Encantada initially approached a store and was turned away...it was the nerds (also known as consumers) that got the ball rolling!
I hope that brings some clarity to what I was originally trying to say. With that in mind...
Here is a review of a 2004 L’Encantada Lous Pibous Cask 196 56%. The bottle was selected by the Brandy Brothers. I initially wrote that it was selected by 1789b but apparently it's a Brandy Brother's pick (its worth mentioning the selecting group was essentially all 1789b members and cask 196 was pretty much sold exclusively to 1789b members...take it for what it is). The label has “by Philippe” handwritten on it, and from the 1789b member who is responsible for initially bringing L'Encantada Stateside: "Pibous is the domain that grew the grapes, made the wine and aged the Armagnac. They did not do the distillation. They hired a travelling distiller/still from the town of Condom. 1993 and later Pibous was distilled by Philippe..."
On to the review...
Nose: strawberry jello and beef stock…apples, amaretto, and a little Robitussin cough syrup
Taste: this is meaty – is that you, Mortlach??? This really has a lot of sherried Mortlach qualities with plenty of beef bullion, brine/salt and a little sulfur…some mineral qualities (slate) and somewhat jammy, with some cherries in there...I also get some medicinal qualities – I’ll call it cough syrup
Finish: nice length with the finish…the Mortlachyness meaty/salty character dominates the end
Thoughts
When I first opened this I absolutely adored it (probably because I adore sherried Mortlach) and I embarked to get more. At that time it was a clear “A” to me. Then a week later I revisited the bottle for an official review and it was as if someone turned on the lights at the bar...at 2am – oh boy...with air and time the flavors amplified, and instead of working in harmony when I first opened it, they were in an ugly battle for palate domination. Cask 196 is not bad by any stretch, just to me, it’s not very balanced. I’ve heard that this is a polarizing pick, which makes sense. I also see why it was picked – it's very unique. So please remember this is just one man’s perspective and I’m sure there are many others. With that in mind, I’m giving this a…
Grade: B
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