Friday, September 4, 2020

L’encantada Lous Mouracs 1983 Armagnac for Lincoln Road Package Store 48.6%

 

This bottling comes from the same Tenareze estate of the 1979 Mouracs that was distributed by PM Spirits...it’s just a little bit younger and bottled exclusively for Lincoln Road Package Store in Hattiesburg, MS. For the uninitiated, Lincoln Road is a fantastic independent liquor store that has some of the best barrel picks across many types of spirits; Jaimie Farris, the owner, knows his business. The cost is a tad over $200, so let’s see if it is worth it (TL;DR it most definitely is):

N: this is kind of reaching old Bernheim territory...Heath Bars and maple syrup and maraschino cherry liqueur, oh my! There’s some varnish’ish qualities along with some confectionary grape aromas, too.

P: Dense and rich with fantastic structure...great flavors all around! There’s toffee, chocolate covered coffee beans, cotton candy, and Faygo grape soda (whoop whoop).

F: Nice length with the fruit forward flavors continuing on and drowning out the rest as the party comes to its end.

Grade: A

I hate comparing brandy to bourbon, I mean I really really do. It casts a corn shadow over beautiful grape distillate which should otherwise be respected for what it is...and not be recognized on the basis that it shares some bourbon’ish traits. With that said, this bottling tastes like fantastic bourbon - like the bourbon of yesteryear that people irrationally chase with end-of-the-year bonuses and second mortgages. There is plenty of brandy character, too, which should please the burgeoning American brandy drinkers looking for good brandy (and not just bourbon-like brandy). This bottle is also completely different from the 1979 Mouracs; personally I prefer the 1979 but that comes down to preference and there is no distinctive quality difference between the two bottlings. I bought a couple of the 1983s, and I feel like maybe I should sell something to buy a couple more if they're still around.


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