Chateau de Pellehaut 1983 30 Year Armagnac 47.8%

Here's a review of an older K&L Pellehaut pick I snagged years ago. It's long gone and probably difficult to track down, but I hope the review speaks to the overall quality of the Pellehaut releases, and especially the K&L Pellehaut picks. For as much fun as it is to joke about David Driscoll's silly wrestling analogies (like I should cast stones, amiright?), Driscoll and David OG at K&L tracked down some fantastic brandy before anyone else. I bought into the hype early, right when they first started selling store-exclusive Armagnac. I'm sure Charles Neal, the author and importer, had a heavy hand in what K&L brought Stateside, too.

Anyways, this is a 30 year, 1983 Chateau de Pellehaut, bottled in 2013 at 47.8%. It was ~$85 when it was first released...almost seems too soon to say "those were the days" when referring to 2013...

Nose: grape mocha latte (I wish that was an actual thing), lots of oak, more oak, and citrus...some rose petals and a tinge of sea spray, too

Taste: fat and juicy AND rich, I told my buddy this tasted like Glendronach and dusty bourbon had a love child...the oak isn't as prevalent as it is on the nose, but its there...chocolate, backing/confectionery spices, and a light cheesecake note (I use that to describe a pleasant, subtle rich sourness)...citrus, cherry, caramel, and apricots

Finish: nice length, where the fruits and spices taper off slowly

Thoughts

I really like this, and I really really like this for ~$85. When I first opened the bottle, the 83 was good, but I wasn't a huge fan. Now, about halfway towards empty (around 4 months air time), it has has really opened up. While its a nice fat spirit, I do wish there was a little more oomph - that would drive it up another grade. Like I said at the beginning, while this bottle is gone, I think it's indicative of Pellehaut's overal quality.

Grade: A minus
  

Original Retail Linke

https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1137466