Marquis de Puységur Napoleon

Marquis de Puységur Napoleon

Blended armagnac - Bas Armagnac (Gerland)
40% ABV
Orange amber

Nose: Orange peel, lemons, raisins, black pepper, hints of roses.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, tingly.
Tasting: Sweet sour. Lemons, raisins, black pepper, limes, roses, hints of black tea.
Finish: Long. Black tea, black pepper, lemons, hints of roses.

Comments:

Spicy, festy and very, very lively. This armagnac woke my palate up, which was no small feat as I had already had a 3 course meal with lots of wine. Very memorable indeed, although I did think that an Islay whisky would have done the trick a little better.

Verdict:

I like this.

Another armagnac from the Cave Coopérative de Villeneuve de Marsan.

Orangerie

Orangerie

Blended whisky liqueur
46% ABV
Amber

Nose: Orange, vanilla, cloves, lemons, palm sugar, rosemary.
Mouthfeel: Medium, watery, loosens quickly.
Tasting: Sweet sour. Oranges, lemons, cloves, demerara sugar.
Finish: Short. Cloves, oranges, lemons, hints of pears.

Comments:

Blended grain and malt whisky infused with oranges and cassia. Very light and appealing, an ideal aperitif. I tasted this at a Compass Box retrospective tasting, and this was a perfect way to round off an evening of great whisky. Great with ice.

Verdict:

I like this.

Marquis de Puységur 1966

Marquis de Puységur 1966

Blended armagnac - Bas Armagnac (Gerland)
40% ABV
Pale amber

Nose: White pepper, chocolate, raspberry jam, orange peel.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, watery, smooth.
Tasting: Sweet sour. Butter, oranges, oak, white pepper, cinnamon, cherries.
Finish: Medium, astringent, orange peel, peanuts.

Comments:

An old armagnac that did its duty as a digestif, but would have been so much better as an aperitif. There are certain spicy notes in here that make the mouth water - cinnamon, pepper, and orange peel. I would have loved this before the meal!

Verdict:

I like this.

This armagnac is distilled and bottled by a cooperative. Cooperatives generally do not grow their own grapes, but instead buy grapes from farmers in the region, making and aging armagnac from the purchased produce.

In this case, the cooperative is the Cave Coopérative de Villeneuve de Marsan, located in Gerland. Marquis de Puységur is the marque for all the armagnacs bottled by this cooperative. This armagnac is generally available in XO or VSOP expressions, with many vintages also available (though not every year). Apparently the quality of each vintage is somewhat variable. I guess that's only to be expected, since the provenance of the grapes varies from year to year, adding one more variable to the uncertain art of armagnac-making.

Baron de Sigognac 10 yo

Part of the pleasure of drinking brandy is that I've usually done no research beforehand When I drink whisky I usually know a little about the distillery style, the bottler and what to expect. With brandy it's a voyage of discovery - I just note down the name of the brandy and the colour, write the tasting note and fill in the details later using the internet. Quite often I discover new and interesting things - like the fact that this particular armagnac is sometimes a blend, and sometimes a single producer armagnac bottled under the negociant's label. In all probability though, this one is blended.

Baron de Sigognac 10 yo

Blended armagnac - Bas Armagnac
40% ABV
Dark gold

Nose: Brown paper, vanilla, orange peel, orange blossom.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, watery around the edges.
Tasting: Sour. Lemon, grapefruit, vanilla, prunes, butter, cream.
Finish: Long. Vanilla, cream, walnut skins.

Comments:

Milky, but not too sweet. There's not enough fruit for my taste in this armagnac, and the slight bitter edge to the finish takes something away from it. It's really quite tart as well. Not what I expected to find when I started delving into the world of armagnac.

Verdict:

Not bad.

Baron de Sigognac is a blended brand sold by ADEX, a firm that also owns the producer Chateau de Bordeneuve. Some of the vintages under these brands are entirely from the Chateau de Bordeneuve vineyard. However, I believe (but can't confirm) that the 10 yo is a blend from more than one vineyard. Tasty nonetheless, although I think it suffers from being diluted to 40%.

Excerpt and revision of a post on an old blog.