Laubade 2004 19 yr. (btl. 2023) Bas-Armagnac 750ml

Château de Laubade has been the property of the Lesgourgues family since 1974, when Maurice Lesgourgues revived the estate and set it apart from other Armagnac houses of the era. Today the third generation continues the family's sustainable approach across 260 acres of single-block vineyard facing the Pyrenees, farmed with the help of organic manure produced by the estate's own flock of sheep. Laubade remains the only Armagnac house that coopers its own barrels, a level of vertical control that runs from vine to bottle.

This 2004 vintage comes entirely from that year's harvest, distilled varietal by varietal from the estate's traditional grapes of Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, Colombard, and Baco. Rather than being reduced to a standard proof, it was bottled in 2023 at nineteen years of age, left at a strength shaped naturally by its time in Gascony oak, with the cellar master personally oiling, racking, and monitoring the barrel throughout its maturation.

The color shows deep amber with mahogany highlights. On the nose, candied fruit and roasted aromas lead into vanilla and light citrus, while the palate turns fresh and elegant, carrying dried fruit and licorice through a round, well-balanced finish.