Baron Gaston Legrand 1950 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40%

An Armagnac cellar has a smell you find nowhere else. Damp wood, a little fungus on the vaulting and a sweetness from everything that has evaporated over the years. The 1950 vintage has been lying in that smell since the grapes came in.

The expert's description

Baron Gaston Legrand 1950 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40% is a Vintage Bas Armagnac from Gascony in south-west France, aged in black oak casks and bottled at 40%.

Behind the bottle stands Lhéraud, a French spirits house founded in 1680, which owns and bottles the Baron Gaston Legrand vintage range. The range consists of single harvests, and this bottle holds spirit from 1950 only. The label guarantees the vintage.

The grapes are Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard from Bas Armagnac, the westernmost sub-region of the appellation. The wine is distilled once in an alambic armagnacais. Because it passes through the column only once, fewer of the grape's aromatics are broken apart on the way, and that is still detectable in the glass decades later.

The spirit started in new black oak casks of 700 to 1200 litres, where it picked up tannin and dry wood. It then moved to older casks, where maturation settles down, and stayed there until bottling at 40%. Vintages from the early fifties generally hold more fruit than the oldest bottles in the range.

Tasting notes

Nose

Brighter than the oldest vintages. Yellow plums and vanilla first, then candied lemon peel and a trace of almond. Oak sits underneath the whole thing as a dry, warm base.

Palate

Soft and fruity with plum and apricot up front. The vanilla comes from the cask and lies like a cream beneath the fruit, while a light peppery edge keeps it from turning sweet. Nuttiness shows up at the end.

Finish

Long and dry with citrus peel and almond. The spice warms the throat and the wood lets go slowly.

Specifications

Name: Baron Gaston Legrand 1950 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, new casks first and then older casks
Distillation method: Single distilled in an alambic armagnacais
Distilled: 1950

Flavour profile

Fruity · Vanilla · Citrus · Almond · Spiced

Investment potential

Medium. Old vintages from Bas Armagnac are steadily harder to source, and 1950 has both age and a single harvest behind it. Stock does not grow, though bottles from the fifties are still a little easier to come by than those from the war years.

Did you know?

Folle Blanche was the region's most important grape before phylloxera struck in the late 19th century. It yields poorly and is awkward to grow, but it supplies a floral finesse that Ugni Blanc cannot deliver on its own.

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Frequently asked questions about Baron Gaston Legrand 1950 Vintage Appellation Bas Armagnac Controlee 40%

How does a 1950 vintage differ from the oldest vintages in the range?

The fruit is more obvious. The oldest bottles in the range are darker and more rancio-driven, with dried fruit, leather and wood, while 1950 still holds yellow fruit, vanilla and citrus peel. The cask influence is there, but it has not taken over.

Is a 1950 bottle worth investing in?

It carries reasonable potential. The vintage cannot be made again, and old Bas Armagnac bottles grow fewer each year. Bas Armagnac as the origin and Lhéraud as the bottler both help sustain interest over time.

What are black oak casks, and what do they do to the flavour?

They are French oak casks that darken over time from fungus and evaporation in the cellar. They hold 700 to 1200 litres, far more than a whisky cask, and that volume makes the contact between wood and spirit less intense. It is why the distillate can lie for decades without being wooded to death.

Should it be served with ice?

No. Cold shuts the aromatics down and blurs the fruit and vanilla. Drink it neat at room temperature and let it sit in the glass for a couple of minutes first. If cooling is essential, chill the glass briefly rather than the spirit.

Does it make a good 75th birthday present?

Yes, if the birth year is 1950. The vintage is on the label, and the bottle comes in a wooden box with a canvas bag and a spare stopper. A vintage Armagnac is one of the few gifts where the year is not symbolic but actual content.

How was it made?

The wine from the 1950 harvest was distilled once in an Armagnac column and put into cask that same winter. Nothing has happened since but maturation, first on new wood and later on old. No younger spirit was added along the way. It is that single distillation which separates the method from the double distillation used by Cognac Houses and Distilleries.