A cask has no idea what is going on outside. The wine behind this Armagnac was harvested in Gascogne in 1940, in the middle of the war years, and then it was left alone. All the work that has gone into the bottle since has consisted of leaving it be.
The expert's description
Baron Gaston Legrand 1940 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40% is a Vintage Bas Armagnac from the 1940 harvest, single distilled in an alambic armagnacais, matured in black oak casks and bottled at 40%.
Bas Armagnac is the westernmost of the three parts of Armagnac and the most respected. Sandy soil produces finer spirit, and the three varieties behind the bottle are Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard.
Armagnac runs once through the alambic armagnacais. That single distillation is the whole difference from Cognac, and it explains why Armagnac can sit in cask for so long without thinning out: there is more to draw on from the start.
The cask policy is the same across the range. New black oak of between 700 and 1200 litres first, where the tannin and dry timber notes come in, then older casks that add no more wood but let time do the work. This final stage runs until bottling.
Baron Gaston Legrand is owned and bottled by Lhéraud, a house founded in 1680. The vintage stands alone in the bottle, with nothing from other years blended in, and the label guarantees it. The bottle arrives in a wooden box with a spare stopper and a canvas bag.
Tasting notes
Nose
Toasted hazelnut and dried peach, with honey and old wood beneath. A little black pepper pokes through, and there is a distant floral stroke of violet.
Palate
Round and dry. Nuts and stone fruit do the carrying, the vanilla comes from the cask, and the pepper reports for duty in the middle. There is a richness that fills the mouth without turning heavy.
Finish
Medium-long to long. Nuts and dried fruit run out into a dry, spiced timber note, leaving a faint honeyed sweetness behind.
Specifications
Name: Baron Gaston Legrand 1940 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40%
Bottler: Lhéraud
Region/Country: Bas Armagnac, Gascogne, France
Type: Vintage Bas Armagnac
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Black oak casks of 700-1200 litres
Distillation method: Single distilled in an alambic armagnacais
Distilled: 1940
Edition: Vintage 1940
Flavour profile
Hazelnut · Stone fruit · Honey · Pepper · Round
Investment potential
High. War vintages from Bas Armagnac are few, and no more 1940 will be made. The long spell in oak casks and the fact that the bottle holds one single harvest mean the vintage cannot be recreated.
Did you know?
Folle Blanche was the original grape of Armagnac, but the phylloxera outbreak of the late 1800s all but wiped it out. It is difficult to grow and yields little, so today it covers only a small share of the vineyards. It is still regarded as the finest of them all on the nose.
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