Domaine de Charron (27 yr) 1996 Barrel #17 Bas-Armagnac 750ml

Domaine de Charron's Baco vines date to the early twentieth century, planted by the great-grandmother of current owners Jacques and Claude Lartigue. The family saved the two-hectare plot from being uprooted in 1985 and relaunched Armagnac production soon after, farming vines that now range from 35 to 65 years old on a small scale that allows close attention to detail. Jacques's son-in-law, Jean-Philippe, took over the estate in 2015 and has continued its modernization, including installing the domaine's own vintage still in 2012 after decades of relying on a traveling distiller.

This release comes from barrel seventeen of the 1996 harvest, distilled from 100 percent Baco grown on the estate's iron-rich sandy soils and matured for twenty-seven years in new oak from a local cooper in Le Frêche. As with all of Charron's vintages, the spirit was never reduced with water and carries no added sugar or coloring, bottled by hand at its natural cask strength once ordered.

The color is bright and clear, with a fine, elegant nose built on stewed fruit that opens into notes of grilled almond and vanilla. The palate arrives round and generous, layering cinnamon and baking spice over the fruit, before finishing long and delicately spiced with a persistent rancio edge.