Laubade 2005 Bas-Armagnac 750ml

Château de Laubade was built in 1870 in the village of Sorbets, on land once owned by statesman Joseph Noulens and his wife, the pioneering Parisian couturier Jeanne Paquin. The Lesgourgues family took over in 1974 and today farms 105 hectares of continuous vineyard, aided each autumn by a herd of 600 sheep from the Pyrenees that fertilize the vines naturally. Laubade remains the only Armagnac property with its own cooperage, using timber from its surrounding forests to build every barrel in which its spirit ages.

This 2005 vintage comes entirely from that year's harvest, distilled immediately after fermentation in the estate's 1974 Armagnacais still, with each grape variety kept separate through distillation to preserve its individual character before later blending. The eau-de-vie then rested among the roughly 2,800 barrels held in Laubade's cellars, developing slowly until judged ready for bottling as part of the estate's single-vintage Celebration range.

The color is clean amber, with a nose built on butter, vanilla, and cooked prune. On the palate the texture turns supple and rounded, carrying ample vanilla and spicy oak through to a long, satisfying finish.