Château Laballe Bas Armagnac 700ml 1982

Château Laballe Bas Armagnac is a vintage Bas Armagnac made entirely from Baco, the hybrid variety now found only in armagnac country.

Baco was bred at the turn of the twentieth century to give something of the character of Folle Blanche without its fragility, and it remained the mainstay of armagnac until the late 1970s. Château Laballe still keeps it, distilling in the domaine's 1923 wood-fired copper still and ageing the spirit in Chêne Noir Gascon, 410-litre barrels coopered from oak of the adjacent Landes forest. The thick-grained wood gives tannin and spice slowly, which is why these bottlings can carry decades in cask without drying out. No colour is added and the spirit is bottled brut de fût, unfiltered and at natural alcohol, almost always from a single barrel. This one was drawn from the demijohn cask marked Dame Jeanne n°R4 and bottled in September 2021, from a year whose good yields brought firm acidity.

A slow after-dinner spirit, served neat at room temperature; it also sits well with dark chocolate, dried apricots or a plate of walnuts and hard cheese.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.