Black oak. The casks of Gascogne are built from it, and the timber is cut so that it gives up its tannin slowly. This Armagnac comes from the 1941 harvest, and it has spent the time since in the company of that wood, gradually giving in to it.
The expert's description
Baron Gaston Legrand 1941 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40% is a Vintage Bas Armagnac from the 1941 harvest, single distilled in an alambic armagnacais, matured in black oak casks and bottled at 40%.
Maturation begins in new black oak casks of between 700 and 1200 litres. A large cask offers less wood per litre of spirit than a small one, so development runs slowly enough for a vintage to stand for decades without turning woody.
Once the new cask has given what it has, the spirit moves to older wood. Nothing further is added here, but maturation continues, calm and harmonious, right up to bottling. It is during this stage that the dark, dried tones and the nutty rancio build up.
The grapes come from Bas Armagnac in Gascogne and are Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard. The wine is distilled once on the alambic armagnacais, the traditional armagnac column, which is what separates Armagnac from double distilled Cognac.
Baron Gaston Legrand is owned and bottled by Lhéraud, a French house founded in 1680. Each bottle holds one single vintage with nothing from other years blended in, and the label guarantees the year. It arrives in a wooden box with a spare stopper and a canvas bag.
Tasting notes
Nose
Violet and lime first, surprisingly bright for the age, with dried fruit and vanilla behind. The oak lies underneath as a dry base note and keeps everything in place.
Palate
Dry and taut through the middle. Citrus peel, plum and vanilla, with a tannin structure still clearly there but softened at the corners. The spice runs dry, closer to white pepper than to anything sweet.
Finish
Long and dry. The tannins let go slowly, leaving violet, vanilla and a fine bitterness from the wood.
Specifications
Name: Baron Gaston Legrand 1941 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: 1941
Edition: Vintage 1941
Flavour profile
Violet · Citrus · Vanilla · Tannin · Dry
Investment potential
High. The vintage cannot be recreated, and old Bas Armagnac vintages grow fewer with every bottle opened. The long maturation in oak casks and the standing of the appellation make 1941 a bottle you will not simply come across again.
Did you know?
Rancio is the word for the nutty, almost saline note that only appears after many decades in cask. It can be neither hurried nor imitated, and for many drinkers it is the defining mark of an old Armagnac.
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