Laubade 1979 44 yr. (btl. 2023) Bas-Armagnac 750ml

Château de Laubade holds vintages and aging stocks dating back to 1855, a testament to a family history built on patience across generations of the Lesgourgues family. At 260 acres of estate vineyard, it is by far the largest producing property in Armagnac, a scale that lets the house direct its finest, oldest barrels toward small, non-diluted connoisseur bottlings while its everyday releases move at higher volume. Its most prodigiously aged brandies rest in dames-jeannes, oversized glass demijohns that allow a slow, closely controlled evolution once the spirit has spent decades in wood.

This 1979 vintage is drawn entirely from that year's harvest and distilled varietal by varietal from the estate's own Baco, Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard grapes. It matured for forty-four years in Gascony oak crafted at Laubade's own cooperage before being bottled in 2023, developing a deep mahogany color over that extended aging.

The nose is powerful and spicy, layered with notes of matured dark fruit. On the palate it shows a superb roundness, unfolding into rich, complex flavors of spice and gentle smoke that carry through a long, warming finish built for slow, deliberate sipping.