Delord Freres 1989 Armagnac

Like most of Delord's vintage dated releases, only a tiny volume of the 1989 has made it to Australia. The brilliant copper penny colour shines from the glass and follows in a soft, well-rounded bouquet, balancing fruit and wood: Figs, dried apricot, prunes, vanilla…a touch of shellac, while more air contact accents pepper heat and increased oakiness, becoming mildly sappy, green-wood like. The style here is medium bodied with dried fruit flavours and a thrust of pepper. Muted clove, vanilla and cigar box through the finish. In a word, robust. 40% Alc./Vol. Situated in Bas-Armagnac, Delord's distillery is to be found in the village of Lannepax, the ancestral home of the Delord family. They comment, "Our old Sier Armagnac alambics, that we wouldn't part with for all the gold in the world, produce less than 30 litres of eau-de-vie an hour. Our cellars contain our old treasured vintages and include more than 700 oak barrels that protect and age the Armagnac eau-de-vie dating from the 20th Century to the present day". This expression was made from Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, Baco and Colombard harvested, pressed and vinified separately.