Château Laballe Bas Armagnac Résistance Baco 700ml

Château Laballe Bas Armagnac Résistance Baco is a single-variety bottling of Baco, the hybrid grape now grown nowhere outside armagnac country.

Until the late 1970s Baco was the prime ingredient in armagnac. Ugni Blanc holds that position today, but the older variety shaped the region's identity, and Cyril Laudet wanted both to commemorate that and to show people why it matters by presenting it on its own. Baco was developed at the turn of the twentieth century as a French-American hybrid, bred to give some of the flavours of Folle Blanche without its susceptibility to phylloxera; the etching on the label depicts that parasite. Résistance took three years to get right, worked through in consultation with the trade, and blends three armagnacs distilled in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Each spent its first year in new 410-litre Chêne Noir Gascon barrels from Bartholomo, the last cooper left in the Landes, for texture and sweetness, then the balance of its ageing in older wood, which brings out earthier and more savoury character.

An elegant spirit to sip neat after dinner, and a good base for a Sazerac or an old fashioned; it also works with dark chocolate and salted almonds.

*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.