Rum vs Armagnac
Updated: Feb 11
A rum drinker's thoughts on some Armagnacs - whether they compare to rums / are pleasing to this rum drinker's palate.
I'll start by saying that I know nothing about Armagnac, Cognac, or Brandy, but I love rum. An occasional diversion from your core interest has got to be healthy, so let's dive into these.
Last year I took a similar detour, into the world of fruit Brandy or Eau de Vie. That was fascinating and I fell in love with with a few new spirits that will now add richness and variety to my spirits cabinet. You can find my series of Eau de Vie reviews and articles here.
So... Brandy is a huge category, with well over a billion bottles produced globally each year. Each country has its own styles - today we're looking at the most renowned area: located in southwest France, Cognac and Armagnac. Widely considered the pinnacle of the brandy world.
Of these two areas, I'm only really looking at Armagnac today - which is tiny in comparison. Due to its landlocked location, unlike Cognac, Armagnac was largely inaccessible to Britain, Holland and the wider world until the arrival of railways in the 19th century. This likely slowed it's growth and helped preserve a more artisan style.
Armagnac - 2,420 hectares, 3 million bottles a year, 50% consumed in France.
Cognac - 75,000 hectares, 200 million bottles a year, 98% exported!
A less industrial, more artisan, hand-crafted spirit, with the potential for a wider variety in quality and flavour. Armagnac is made by over 500 small producers, whereas cognac production is dominated by big-name brands, namely Courvoisier (Campari Group), Hennessy (LVMH), Martell (Pernod Ricard), and Rémy Martin (Rémy Cointreau).
Most Armagnac is still made by farmers who also make wine, keep livestock and grow maize and tobacco.
Armagnac is the oldest brandy recorded, that's still distilled today. In 1310, Prior Vital du Four, a cardinal, wrote of its 40 virtues. Hopefully, I'll uncover a few of the virtues this week.
The Armagnac region lies between the Adour and Garonne rivers in the foothills of the Pyrenees. It was granted Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status in 1936.
It's classified into three Armagnac districts:
Bas-Armagnac, responsible for about 62% of production
Armagnac-Ténarèze, accounting for 37%
Haut-Armagnac, a tiny area producing about 1% of all Armagnac
A grape based spirit, essentially it's local wine that is then distilled.
Ten different types of grape are allowed for use in the production of Armagnac. Of these, four are most common:
Baco Blanc
Colombard
Folle Blanche
Ugni Blanc
These local grapes are harvested, pressed and fermented to make a light acidic wine (c.8%). This must be distilled within a few months as it cannot be preserved with sulphur which would be concentrated during distillation.
Most producers in Armagnac use an unusual column still - Alambic Armagnacais - often referred to as a continuous pot still. With its limited number of plates, this produces a low-strength alcohol of between 50-70% ABV which is packed full of congeners.
Only 48 houses in Armagnac own their own copper still, so to support the rest of the houses, there are five travelling distillers who pull their alambic by tractor around the villages.
It's this high congener profile that has led me here - let's see if there's the overlap with highly flavoured rums that I'm hoping for.
You'll notice some serious ageing on today's lineup. As these are 100% continentally aged, we can taste some venerable bottlings without being too concerned about them being over-oaked (hopefully)
Today's tasting is mostly single casks, selected by independent bottlers. Particular note should be made of the new kid on the block - Grape of the Art - who've taken the Armagnac world by storm with their stunningly presented bottlings, and super comprehensive website.
Enough waffle. Eleven to taste, so best get stuck in. It's my big birthday week so I'm tackling these in rapid succession - 2 or 3 a night followed by a final cross-tasting of the winners.
Assistance this week started with a super cool dude from Cape Verde, Boy Gé Mendès, and went on a facinating rabbit hole from there.
First up, two producers from the Ténarèze region of Armagnac, both use Ugni Blanc grapes.
With my 50th birthday just days away, I can't think of a better start to this tasting than a spirit distilled in 1975 (my birth year).
1975 Séailles - 50%, 47yrs- Nose: Impressive heft. Smells amazing. Hints of orange zest. A little glue & wood polish. Big oak, stunningly integrated with intense dry, spicy, floral notes. Sweet prune juice and a touch of brine. Leather, rubber, bbq meat and piles of spice. Tonnes of life in this 50-year-old... there's hope for me yet :-) Later, rummy dark fruit, pencil shavings and anise notes start to pop up. The best nose of the three.
Mouth: Cake mix envelops a spicy, zesty, tangy fruit filling. Even a splash of caramel. Dry spiced cane goes on for an age finally ending with a punch of bitter stewed tea. Really impressive. The oak is so well integrated. Fantastic experience. The start and mid-palate are perfect. At first the whisky-esque white wine, smoke and tobacco-y finish is too dry, tannic and bitter but 20 minutes later it's softening - the complexity and flavours that keep emerging are enthralling. [88+pts]
1988 Séailles - 50%, 32yrs, 205btls - Nose: Very rum forward. Something old and fairly funky - old Clarendon. With a hint of old wine. Sherbet and tropical fruit. Rotten fruit too, or durian. Medicinal. Licorice. Way fruitier than the '75. All this is balanced by some quite earthy almost leathery notes.
Mouth: Ooo, yum. Oily. Fruity. Dark chocolate. Bitter fruit zest. Dark fruit. Walnuts. Attention-seeking moreish bitterness jumps in but is quickly balanced by brightness and fruit that holds, flitting in and out focus, right through to the finish. A tiny splash of old, slightly oxidised wine and grapefruit pith. Moorish long bittersweet finish. Delicious. [89+pts]
1986 Rounagle - 51.3%, 36yrs, 289btls - Nose: Spicy, nutty. and boozy. Super spicy. A good helping of acetone. Nougat. Toasted nuts. Flashes between menthol and spicy wood polish.
Mouth: A chewy one. Gluey, bright rotten fruit. And a spritz of polish. With a big smash of bitter grapefruit. Bold chunky marmalade. It dances on your tongue and leaves you licking your lips. Really unusual - I'd pick rum in a blind taste, but not a rum I've tried. A sticky, tarry, bitter sour cherry finish. Beautifully medicinal. Just the faintest aftertaste of an empty old musty wine bottle [90pts]
Similarities to rum - on the nose, variations on old Guyana. With hints of classy old Jamaican. Somewhere between Clarendon and Port Mourant. Big old heavily oaked spirits - but balanced.
And on the palate, spice, complexity, superb oak integration, rotten fruit, acetone ...
Great oak influence on them all, with a decently bright and interesting spirits shining though. 1975 is amazing. The best nose of the 3, unfortunately the whisky notes on the palate don't work for me, whereas the 1986 much more rummy.
Day 2: Domaine Pibous
Pibous, which closed in 2005, was located in Bas Armagnac and used Folle Blanche for their Armagnac. Temperate cellar. I believe Pibous always used new oak barrels to age their Armagnac
1995 GOTA - 54.7%, 27yrs, 352btls - Nose: Deep rich oak, polish and resin. Fresh cut wood. Dried currants. Some notes of tropical fruit blend perfectly with the deeper flavours balancing the nose perfectly.
Nose is halfway between Monymusk and Old agricole . Really deep but a clear funky edge.
20 mins later and there are menthol, and dirty medicinal notes that could easily be a great demerara rum. I want to nose this all evening.
Mouth: There's an initial bite to Armagnac- a tannic astringency that you don't get as much in rum. Potentially the new French oak casks. When it relaxes and releases its flavours, this is a treat of tropical fruit. A touch of chocolate and tobacco. Stewed tea. And a long tropical oaky finish. The oak is more present than in the Encantada, perfectly integrated, and offering more depth, and complexity. Iodine, salty licorice, tropical fruit. Leathery but very much alive. Actually gets brighter and tastier as time goes on. An astonishing spirit. [92+pts]
1995 L'Encantada - 56.1%, 24yrs - Nose: Wow. Sweet caramel, fruit. Musty, dusty oak. Much more accessible. Extremely perfumed. Cherry juice. Burnt ends. Tobacco. Tropical estery old fruit. If you said this was Bajan rum, I'd say it was a bloody brilliant Bajan rum.
Mouth: Sweet caramel fruit playing perfectly with spicy toasted oak and toasted coconut. A slight hint of the origin comes with cane fruit acid and then slight wine astringency. Then back to the harmony of sweet estery fruit and spicy oak. A tropical delight. An absolute triumph. Tastes younger and brighter than the GOTA. Less austere, and less intense, but much more fun. Brighter, fruitier, incredible. A touch of bitter astringency pops up at the finish - a gentle reminder that you're drinking fermented and distilled grape juice that has spent 24 years in an oak barrel! [90pts]
Similarities to rum Very, very different from yesterday's Armagnacs, and (amazingly) from each other. The Encantada tastes younger, brighter and more accessible - maybe edging towards Bajan. The GOTA took me on a journey as it evolved, round the islands and ended most firmly in serious quality Guyana territory. Amazing
Day3: Fontan and Hontambere
Hontambere, Ténarèze, Ugni Blanc, wet cellar
Fontan, Bas Armagnac, Ugni Blanc, dry
1996 Fontan - 55.1%, 26yrs, 462btls - Nose: Floral. A little glue. Citrus Zest. Good weight. Resin. Quite dry. Some dried berries, plums and dry cherries. Light well-balanced spicy oak. Hints of vanilla. Fresh and complex, yet balanced.
Mouth: Bright fruit. Mouth filling. A balanced dose of fruit acid and astringent wine notes. The bright fruit holds true. Warming. Cherries on the finish. A core of toasted coconut and perfectly integrated oak. A good one, looking forward to how this evolves....
[later] It gains even more spritz and brightness over time - always kept in check by well-integrated slightly bitter vanilla oak. Very tasty, and complete [89pts]
1989 Hontembere - 55.9%, 33yrs, 250btls - Nose: Acetone and polish. Bold ester and congener levels. Quite rummy - high ester, not dunder-type funk - more the strong acetone ones.
More oak than the 1996, but not as oaky as I'd expect for 33 years. Oak appears a bit wet but pretty well integrated. A good spine of estery old apricots.
Mouth: Menthol. Anise. Cola cubes. Great thick mouth feel. Almost no astringency. Quite spicy. A little sour fruit sweets. And sour wine. Gets a little sweeter and fruitier into the finish. Very much on mark for my search for rummy Armagnacs. Delicious.
Over time, there's growing astringency on the tail which (just) takes away the win. Tough decision as the start and body of this are excellent [89-pts]
1985 Hontambere - 56.6%, 36yrs, 350btls - Nose: Dry, spicy, tannic oak is more pronounced here. Along with smoked apple, leather and polish. And very dry old prunes.
Mouth: A flash of dry spicy oak is quickly overwhelmed by building anise, and cherry & plum compote. This unexpected sweet chewy fruit is joined later by spicy (lightly bitter) tannins; they run well together into a very complete finish.
A touch of smoke and a taste of cigar ash appears in the dying gasps. A smoker's Armagnac.
One of the best yet (till 90% of the way) unfortunately the cigar smoke late in the finish isn't my cuppa tea, and that's what lasts in your mouth. [85-pts]
Two confusing ones from Hontambere - big and estery, followed by deep and rich. Delicious, complex and complete spirits, but with a finish that doesn't work for me. Thankfully the Fontan is faultless and heads to the final.
Day4: D'Esperance, Scottish bottled Brandy and Domaine de Pouy
Esperance, Bas Armagnac, Baco, Semi humid cellar
Early landed, late bottled 'brandy' - selected and bottled by Thompson Bros.
Pouy - Bas Armagnac, Ugni Blanc, aged in an ex-rum cask!
1992 D'Esperance - 46%, 30yrs - Nose: Lighter than some, but a little patience rewards you with a very pleasant smell of fruity sherbet sweets. Maple syrup. Then more fresh berries especially cherries. A winery cellar with its organic oxidized wine aroma. Pencil shavings and toasted coconut. Not as heavy on the esters but an enjoyable nose.
Mouth: Thin, for a second, then the fruit arrives, and soon after a sharp slap of acidic wine. All that calms down and leaves a moreish balanced taste of fruit, wine and spicy oak. Nicely tannic, balanced and enjoyable.
Not as big, funky or complex as some, but no bad notes either. A lovely floral aftertaste. A delicate balanced Armagnac. In the end there's nothing thin about this, I would happily drink it all evening. [89pts]
1993 Brandy - 51.9%, 27yrs, 155btls - Distilled in France in 1993, this brandy was eventually bottled in Scotland by Thompson Bros (hence early landed, late bottled). No details available on the estate.
Nose: Earthy, salty, a little dried currants, bitter cherry stones and a hint of soap. Rich and earthy. In time it gets even richer with added prunes and minerality. Again, minimal levels of estery funk. A touch of anise from the heavy barrel influence.
Mouth: Oaky, dry, and spicy. Very enjoyable but more one for the wood fiends - not enough fresh flavour or funky ester for me. Lots of toasted spice and very old dried prunes. Venerable stuff. I'm enjoying the profile and the oak is decent quality. Picks up a little more fruit after an hour or more, so worth waiting on this old beast [86pts]
2002 de Pouy - 56.8% - Bit of an odd one to finish, this Domaine de Pouy Armagnac was secondary aged in ex-Jamaican Worthy Park rum barrels. Young and light coloured.
Nose: Bright and fresh. Not as rich or intense. A touch musty at first. Definite rum notes coming through. Quite creamy, milk chocolate with caramel-coated fruits. And old walnuts. More tropical notes after another hour.
Mouth: Bright, a big smash of light summer fruit. And some banana. Sharp acidic wine notes. Works ok. Nothing setting the world on fire but an enjoyable drop with a good balance of natural sweetness and winey sharpness. A long clean warming finish where the sweet rum taste mixes perfectly with the lightly astringent wine to leave you wanting more [86+pts]
Grand Finale -
A useful final cross tasting of the 4 'heat' winners:
1986 GOTA Rounagle, 51.3%, 36yrs, 289btls - 90pts
1995 GOTA Pibous, 54.7%, 27yrs, 352btls - 92+pts
1996 GOTA Fontan, 55.1%, 26yrs, 462btls - 89pts
1992 D'Esperance, 46%, 30yrs - 89pts
A delicious re-tasting. I dipped back and forth tweaking scores and comparing these impressively different spirits. And then googling where I can find a bottle of that Pibous!
Conclusions:
I was fortunate to start my Armagnac journey with some super special drams
Grape Of The Art (GOTA)'s outstanding reputation for barrel picks is well deserved
There is a huge natural crossover between rum and armagnac! Flavour similarities range from Monymusk and old low ester Jamaican rums, to old agricole and most certainly a lot of Demerara from Guyana. As well as some cigar and Scotch Whisky notes that didn't work for me
Spice, polish, dried fruit, complexity, superb oak integration, rotten fruit, acetone, iodine, salty licorice, tropical fruit, leather ... familiar, yet different.
I was super impressed by the ester levels. Not dunder type funk - more the strong acetone esters & congeners
A few of these spirits, especially the 1975 Séailles and 1985 Hontambere may not have suited me, but I appreciated the quality and complexity and strongly suspect they would be very popular amongst cigar and whisky afficionados
A win for me, and win for Armagnac - which I shall certainly try more of. And without doubt a massive gold medal for Domaine Pibous. Both Pibous were delicous but clearly the GOTA Pibous is something very special (I would sit it alongside some very fine Demerara rum bottlings)
Coming soon.... Fresh Cane Juice Rum - from Italy!!
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