Old Armagnac is a much better bet than overpriced single malt Scotch

A taste of a pre-World War Two Armagnac plus a recommendation for something a little more down to earth.

One of the secrets of Scotch whisky is that very very old releases are often disappointing. Not that I’m ever going to turn down the chance to try a 30 year old Brora but whiskies beyond that age are often all hat and no cattle as a Texan might say. The number of times I’d sit through a pompous presentation, windy Scotsmen going on and on like only windy Scotsmen can, a video about the making of the box, a variety of talking heads lined up to opine about the magnificence of this rare single malt, and then at the end a sad tired woody wee liquid. But in most cases nobody is ever going to drink them.

In contrast, very old Armagnac and Cognac never seem to disappoint. David Baker at Hermitage Cognac stocks an 1885 that has spent more than 100 years in cask.  I wrote about it for Jancis Robinson recently:

I had a little sniff and my senses were assaulted with heady aromas of furniture polish followed by overripe pineapples, apricots, dark chocolate and tobacco. Baker describes it as ‘double rancio’. Rancio refers to rich flavours of walnut, pineapple and dried apricot produced over time during the interaction between the cask, alcohol and oxygen which you find in old cognac, tawny port and malt whisky. What was remarkable about the flavour was the sheer freshness of it after more than a century in oak.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to visit Armagnac a few years back as a guest of the  Bureau National Interprofessionnel de l'Armagnac (BNIA). What stood out was how generous everyone was with their rare spirits. At Castarede, one of the oldest and most prestigious producers, we were allowed to try Armagnacs from our birth years, 1977 and 1981. Then without much fanfare, the head distiller brought out the 1924 and poured us a generous measure. Something quite unthinkable at say Bowmore.

So when I had a message from a chap called Wilco Fischer offering me some pre-Second World War Armagnac to try, I jumped at the chance. He discovered a rare stash of Armagnac with some friends on a visit to the region two years ago. He wants to keep the exact identity of the family estate in the Gers which is now run by two sisters a secret so it is simply branded as Trésor Familial (family treasure) Très Vieil Armagnac. What he found was a blend of three vintages 1936, 1940 and 1946 - these were all exceptional years, apparently. According to family lore the first two vintages were hidden to keep them out of the clutches of the Germans. He said to me in an email: 

“This Armagnac as a brand has never been sold but has only remained and been drunk in the family since the 1940s. The owners of the now only wine estate wanted to start selling it, but had no clue where to start. They knew they had something special, but lacked the channels to sell to the full market worth.”

Though they were distilled a long time ago, they haven’t, by Armagnac, spent that much time in cask. Some time in the 1980s they were taken out of wood, blended and put in glass bonbonnes. The age of each component was 44, 40 and 34 years respectively.  

I received a couple of tiny samples from his precious stash. Thankfully it’s absolutely superb. Vigorous and still young, easily one of the best Armagnacs I have ever tasted. Here’s my tasting note: 

Fruity nose, apricots followed furniture polish and brown sugar with aromatic tobacco and menthol notes. It just explodes in the mouth, highly aromatic, camphor, herbal, with sweeter spices like liquorice and cinnamon, peachy fruit, quite a bit of wood tannin and dark chocolate. Very very long. Sensational.

It was a privilege to try this. As the youngest component has spent 34 years in wood, if this was marketed with an age statement like a Scotch whisky, you’d only be allowed to say it was 34 years old. But it contains older brandies and you’re getting a bit of history as it was distilled in the 1930 and ‘40s. 

Right time for the big reveal. How much do you think it costs? A whisky equivalent, say a 40 year old Macallan will set you back about £20,000. But that’s not a very good comparison. Imagine if Macallan had found some pre-war liquid in glass and bottled it as a special edition. Can you imagine the hullabaloo? 

Well, Fischer wants £1000 a bottle including VAT. Not an outrageous sum for such a fine and rare spirit. There are only 250 bottles in existence of this very rare spirit. It comes in a presentation box with a booklet explaining the provenance and featuring old photos from the family who produced it. He’s selling some bottles directly whereas others are going up on auction sites. Get in touch with him if you’d like to know more on his website or  contact@wilcofischer com/ +33 681936955 

On a more down-to-earth level, I’ve written something for the Guardian on sub-£100 Armagnacs where you can find some incredible bargains. It should be out in a couple of weeks. If you’re looking to splash out a bit but not as much as buying the Trésor Familial Très Vieil, I’d highly recommend Janneau’s 1973 which was bottled in 2020. Fareham Wine Cellars has it for £165. 

If you love the taste of a well-aged single malt, especially a meaty sherry cask whisky like Glenfarclas or Macallan, then Armagnac offers similar flavours for much less money. Some malt fans are making the leap. Irish whiskey writer Bill Linnane told me recently “there was great value in the category, so I bought a bottle and was really impressed… since then I’ve found myself buying less whisky and more Armagnac, and I have yet to try one that is anything less than excellent.” Wise man.