The Search for a Great Brandy: Armagnac, Baron de Sigognac 10

A story printed on the box of this 10 year old Armagnac (bottled at 40%) describes how the Baron of legend replaced regular clocks in his distillery with one that measured decades – the minute hand counted years and the hour hand decades. The print on the box tells it way better than I’ve been able to, but nevertheless, it goes on to say that he soon gave up on this method, instead determining for himself – by taste - when his precious spirit was of sufficient age. That’s all very well, but if you’re going to put “10 years old” on the bottle, presumably there needs to be some level of certification beyond, “it tastes 10 years old to me”. Maybe not in the old days, but now certainly – France is in the EU after all – with its straight bananas and all…

That certainly wouldn’t work in my line of work, so I’m not about to tell the auditors that we made a hundred million pounds, and I know because I was here and it seemed about right. What do you mean fraud?

At £35.99, this is the most expensive brandy I’ve bought so far – if you’re not counting pomace brandy, which I’m not. It is modestly presented in a utilitarian bottle and box with a simple but classy label.

Before I go on to give you my impressions, I’d like to give a little respect to a user of Master of Malt, going by the name of Peter Lockwood, who offers the following review that is a glowing picture of simplicity:

“I suffer from tinnitus and this lovely drink helps me get to sleep,apart from that it is the best ever alcoholic drink I have ever tasted.”

I don’t suffer from tinnitus (much), but I do have a bad back, and this brandy represents the most savoury brandy I’ve tried so far – not being sweet at all really, though there is a hint of parma violets. You’d think that would be good, since I’ve often desired a little less sweetness from my brandies, but when it’s absent… it’s just not right for some reason. And it hasn’t done anything for my sore back.

I ended up at this destination because I had £30 of Amazon vouchers to use, and this product was receiving universally great reviews but sadly, there’s nothing here that convinces me it is possible to get great brandy at a reasonable price – outside of the Asbach I picked up in Duty Free, that you can read about here.

I’m still struggling to get excited about brandy as a spirit. It just doesn’t seem to deliver the kind of thrills I want for the price I want to pay – in general. So what next? I’m thinking I’m going to have to go all or nothing, and shell out a decent amount (I’m thinking around £60) and see where that gets me. And if I’m not impressed, I’m just going to get cheap things, drink them occasionally, and not expect too much.

The Duke vs The Lord

Good evening! We’re looking at brandy this week, and comparing two brands of admittedly different varieties from mainland Europe. From Spain, and in the brandy de Jerez solera gran riserva style, aged around 10 years, it’s Gran Duque D’Alba – henceforth to be known as The Duke.

Its opposite number is from France, and represents the Armagnac style. It’s Bas Armagnac delord – or The Lord, as it will be known from now on, and it is of the Hors d’Age variety which means it should also be around 10 years old.

The Duke was procured from a duty free shop in San Javier airport in Spain, while The Lord was a very generous and thoughtful gift from my friend Geoffray Westside, when he visited from France in July.

I had asked that Geoffray bring me some Armagnac, and provided a list of potential targets, but I had to cancel when I spent more than I had planned on the Golfageddon holiday. Geoffray ignored my instruction and brought it as a gift. Good man.

So what are we looking at here:

Price

The Duke: 21 euros, but you can expect to pay around £45 in the UK.

The Lord: I don’t know how much Geoffray paid, and I haven’t been able to find the exact same bottling online, but it’s looking to be somewhere from £45-60 here. Check this page though, where certain vintages push the price up to beyond £1000. Clearly it is quite renowned.

Presentation

The Duke: quite fancy; it comes in a box that is trying to look old, while the bottle itself is in an interesting cylindrical Benedictine style, according to this website. The top is quite large and it is topped off with a large cork, making a refreshing change from the booze resistor cap you get in so many Spanish liquor bottles. Then there is a faux wax seal and (for some reason) a bit of ribbon, giving a three musketeers feel to the whole thing. Overall it gives the effect of potentially being quite special.

The Lord: here we have the brandy coming in its own little wooden coffin – very special – while the bottle is a kind of flask shape and is frosted. There’s a bit of faux wax on there also. It all adds up to a great package. Of course, you wonder how much you’re paying for the packaging, but who doesn’t like that little bit extra?

Strength

Both are bottled at 40% ABV.

In the glass

I can’t tell any difference; deep and dark.

Nose

They actually smell the same, but The Lord is better, giving more of an impression of wooden barrels and a gentle smokiness on top of the fruity tones that they share.

Palate

Again, they taste the same, but The Lord is better. It’s just that little bit more complex and varied even though I can’t put my finger on a single element that makes this so. I suppose it’s the recognisable Armagnac tang that just edges it over the Jerez bite.

Finish

Equal length. Nothing specific to note.

Verdict

While I can’t compare the value of these two products, since I don’t know the cost of one of them, with the one that I do know - The Duke – it does have to be a consideration. At £45 I certainly wouldn’t be buying it here in the UK when you think of all the classy single malt scotch you can get for that price. However, it does make a decent souvenir to bring back from your Spanish holiday.

Pricing considerations aside, it is plain to see that I have a slight preference for The Lord – great package, fine brandy. Nowhere near approaching delivery of the kind of pleasure that my favourite whiskies bring, but that’s entirely subjective.

And that’s all I have to say about that. Next week I’ll be dipping my toe into the waters of one of my least favourite spirit genres: gin, and asking what’s so fucking special about gin?!? So until then… I’ll see ya.