About
In 1990 Claire Montesquiou returned to her family tradition of Armagnac distillation, one that began in 900 AD, but had stalled in the 1960s with a sale to Pernod Richard. She and her husband purchased the small Domaine d’Esperance estate, located on the hillside of Gascony’s renowned Bas-Armagnac area. Of the 30 hectares of vines, about 8 are dedicated to making Armagnac – growing Baco 22 A and Folle Blanche. The rest is used to produce table wine, which supports the business as their Armagnac ages. The estate uses 2 small stills. The first is over a hundred years old, the second belongs to the traveling distiller Pierre Machalovsky, who lends the still to the estate. Distillation is slow – about 4 casks of 420 liters per every 24 hours. The estate distills only about for about a week per year, due to its size. Baco 22 A and Folle Blanche are distilled and aged separately. When the Armagnac needs to be proofed down, distilled water is added little by little, at least 6 months before bottling. The family uses local Gascon Oak casks, toasted to a medium level and produced about 15km from the estate, by one of the last independent coopers in the area. The estate uses two cellars – one dating back to the 17th century, and second, more modern cellar, built in 2003 – which hold about 240 casks.
Domaine d’Esperance 1995 17 Year Bas Armagnac is the very first vintage released at the Domaine d’Esperance. Their single cask bottlings are released at cask strength (47% ac/vol in this case). Domaine d’Esperance 1995 17 Year Bas Armagnac was selected for its spicy, marmalade/orange peel notes, after ageing in Gascon oak for 17 years. It is distilled from the Baco 22 A grapes.
Tasting Notes
NOSE: Rich, vanilla, oak, spice.
PALATE: Oily, concentrated, spice, vanilla, toffee, citrus, burnt caramel.
FINISH: Long, spice, wood notes.
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