Baron Gaston Legrand 1928 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40%

Autumn 1928 in Gascony: grapes picked by hand, wine fermenting in the cellar, and by midwinter clear spirit running off the copper. Nobody standing around that still ever tasted the result. The bottle has waited longer than most human lives.

The expert's description

Baron Gaston Legrand 1928 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40% is a Vintage Bas Armagnac from Gascony, single distilled on an alambic armagnacais, matured in black oak casks and bottled at 40%.

Every bottle in the range carries one vintage and one only. Nothing is blended across years, and the label vouches for the contents coming from the 1928 harvest. The range is owned and bottled by the French house Lhéraud, which has worked with distilled wine since 1680.

The wine comes from Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard grown in Bas Armagnac, the western end of the appellation. It passes through the still once, on the low armagnac column that runs in a single continuous stretch. One pass instead of the two used in Cognac, which is why more of the wine's own fruit and spice survives into the spirit.

Straight off the column the spirit went into new black oak casks of 700 to 1200 litres, where the wood laid down its tannins and its dry notes. It later moved to older casks, where little happens beyond the passing of years, and there it stayed until bottling. After that long in wood the sharp edges are gone and the tannins have worn soft.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dried plums and hazelnut first, dry and faintly dusty like an old cask store. Behind them sit violet and a trace of vanilla, with a layer of dry oak across the whole thing.

Palate

Soft and broad with no hard edges. Dried fruit and nut carry the palate, and underneath runs a dark sweetness that belongs more to the wood than to the grape. Pepper arrives halfway through and pulls it dry again.

Finish

Long and dry. The nut lingers longest, with oak and a light peppery bite that takes its time letting go.

Specifications

Name: Baron Gaston Legrand 1928 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40%
Bottler: Lhéraud
Region/Country: Bas Armagnac, Gascony, France
Type: Vintage Bas Armagnac
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Black oak casks of 700-1200 litres
Distillation method: Single distilled on an alambic armagnacais
Distilled: 1928
Edition: Vintage 1928

Flavour profile

Dried Fruit · Nutty · Woody · Spiced

Investment potential

High. A 1928 vintage cannot be made again, and every bottle opened leaves one fewer from that particular year in Bas Armagnac.

Did you know?

Armagnac is France's oldest spirit. Written sources from the 14th century describe it and the virtues it was believed to hold, long before Cognac appears in the record.

See our full range of Armagnac

Frequently asked questions about Baron Gaston Legrand 1928 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40%

What does the year 1928 on the label mean?

It is the year the grapes were harvested, and everything in the bottle comes from that single harvest. Armagnac is traditionally bottled by vintage without being blended across years. The age is counted from 1928 forward to the year the spirit went into glass.

Is a 1928 Bas Armagnac worth collecting?

Yes. Interwar vintages cannot be produced again, and the stock of old casks left in Gascony only shrinks. It also helps that the bottle stands for one specific harvest rather than a blend, which makes it easy to place in a collection.

How is it best served?

At room temperature and without ice. Pour a small measure into a tulip-shaped glass, let it sit for a quarter of an hour and drink it slowly. Cold shuts the aromatics down, and after this many years in wood the aromatics are the entire point.

How long does an opened bottle keep?

One to two years, provided the stopper seals well and the bottle stands somewhere dark and cool. The less liquid left, the faster the flavour shifts, because air gets more room to work. Once the bottle is half empty, decant the rest into a smaller one.

What is the difference between Armagnac and Cognac?

Armagnac is distilled once on an armagnac column, while the Cognac Houses and Distilleries distil twice in a pot still. The single pass leaves more of the wine's character in the spirit, so Armagnac often reads as more rustic and spicier. The region is also far smaller, and vintage bottling is the rule rather than the exception.

What comes with the bottle?

The bottle arrives in a wooden box with a linen bag and a spare stopper. The spare is useful if the original has grown brittle after this many decades, and the box makes the bottle an obvious choice for a landmark birthday.