Domaine des Cassagnoles 5 yo

Domaine des Cassagnoles 5 yo

Single distillery 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.

Comments:

Smells great, with strong chocolatey, slightly savoury, very sweet notes. But it's a whole different story in the mouth. The brandy is tart and slightly astringent, a little mouth-puckering. Not as sweet on the tongue as some other armagnacs, but fragrant, with strong floral notes and a great mouthfeel. This is really quite enjoyable, with some surprises to boot.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Producer

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.

Extract and revision of a post from an old blog.