Marcillac Armagnac

Exclusive World Premier

NEW Marcillac Armagnac

Cognac Expert is delighted to present to you the exclusive world premier of Marcillac Armagnac.

Our connoisseurs have taken their time to meticulously taste each of these spectacular offerings from this artisanal producer and to provide detailed and subjective tasting notes for your consideration.

Armagnac Marcillac Vintage Collection 1970

£ 290

excl. TAX excl. shipping

TASTING NOTES

Eye: Identical to the Marcillac 1975, the Marcillac 1970 pours a deep copper color with metallic reflections. As the glass bowl is coated for the first time, one will notice a disk that sets on the walls of the glass and refuses to cast legs. After a brief moment of time in motionless suspension, the disk breaks and slowly crawling legs drip down the glass. Once again, richness, body, depth, and texture seem to be present in spades.

Nose: Extroverted yet composed first come to mind as the nose is dipped into the glass. The oak presence takes somewhat of a backseat and allows cushioned soft fruits to come forward. With time in the glass, the nutty and salted butter smells make themselves apparent. Behind it all there are some warming tingly spices in the mix. Everything is in good proportion: the oak, the fruit - candied and dried - the vanilla, the spices, and the nutty buttery notes. Nothing is out of place; nothing is edgy. All aromas act as one cohesive unit. The taster’s attention is captured from the first second. It is not an outrageous nose; It’s just a classic, sophisticated, almost perfect nose. Bravo!

Palate: In the mouth, from the entry to the midpalate all the way to the finish, everything is measured and seamless in transition. The oakiness, while certainly present, is more civilized. The fruits, both candied and dried, are soft and provide cushion for the palate. Speaking of fruits, this Armagnac is all about red raisins, figs, fig jam, Medjool dates. Fresh fruit pastes also feature prominently. There’s also more of the dark raw honey. The texture is again out of this world, as one could swirl and chew on this without swallowing for hours on end. The warming spice tingle is present throughout, but thankfully never adds heat. The finish shows the grainy rustic tannins, and the black tea astringency does ruffle the cheeks, but it’s all just so fine. What more can one say? This is a fantastic mature Armagnac!

Why buy:

You want to go all-in on an Armagnac of character and depth, but your love of Cognac has taught you to treasure nuance, elegance, and balance. Hands down, the Armagnac Marcillac 1970 is your winner.

Armagnac Marcillac Vintage Collection 1975

£ 270

excl. TAX excl. shipping

TASTING NOTES

Eye: The Marcillac 1975 pours a deep copper color with a metallic sheen. As the glass bowl is coated for the first time, one will notice a disk that sets on the walls of the glass and refuses to cast legs. After a brief moment of time in motionless suspension, the disk breaks and slowly crawling legs drip down the glass. This seems to be on another level of richness and body.

Nose: Massive! The nose is very buttered and dessert-like - patissier is the word in French. Right off the bat, smells of butterscotch, caramel, toffee, various candied and dried fruits, and vanilla compete for the nose’s attention. The vanilla is not front and center because the other bombastic notes steal the spotlight. With time in the glass, a nuttiness sets in. One can find a similar nuttiness in Cognacs from the Borderies, for example. There is an old wood note, but again it’s not center stage because of the richly seductive dessert and fruit notes which leap from the glass. Lastly, it must be said that one could be forgiven for thinking he or she is smelling a sherry bomb single malt whisky - a proper malternative nose as the whisky community would say. One could just smell this all night. It’s a nose from another planet!

Palate: This is a mouthful of an Armagnac. The texture is immense. It is an Armagnac to chew on. The palate initially feels how oak-driven this Armagnac is. The force of the oak fades away only for bags of sultry sweet fruits to take the relay: fig jam and Medjool dates all coated in a dark high strength raw honey. It is a heavier spirit with a memorable texture. As the Armagnac is swallowed, the oakiness reappears and the grainy rustic tannins roar back leaving a pleasant bitterness in the mouth. The astringent sensation on the finish is like that from drinking a fine black tea. This must be viewed as a positive as the firmness on the finish counterbalances the honeyed fruity notes from the midpalate. This is a robust Armagnac of real character. Seemingly hours after tasting, the teeth will still feel as though the Armagnac is clinging to them. While full of muscle and authority, this is just a fascinating explosion of smells, flavors, and sensations!

Why buy:

No messing around, you want to go all-in on a robust Armagnac full of depth and character. The Armagnac Marcillac 1975 fits the bill. And you sherry bomb whisky fans out there: You won’t regret this!

Armagnac Marcillac Vintage Collection 1995

£ 149

excl. TAX excl. shipping

TASTING NOTES

Eye: The Marcillac 1995 pours an amber color with shimmers of copper. As the glass bowl is coated with the Armagnac for the first time, one will notice crawling legs reluctantly moving down the glass, hinting at a certain richness and body.

Nose: The nose immediately confirms the sensation of richness picked up from eyeing the Armagnac. This will most likely be an Armagnac to chew on. Front and center is a lovely vanilla extract aroma. Just behind the vanilla notes are caramelized apples and pears; apple cinnamon applesauce comes to mind. Soft baking spices are lurking, but this does not seem to be an overtly spicy Armagnac. It really is a fantastic nose. It’s fresh, fruit-driven, and youthful, while simultaneously showing the signs of maturity and the delicate oakiness often found in mature Cognacs and Armagnacs.

Palate: In the mouth initially there are no surprises. The clean pleasant vanilla from the nose shows up in the mouth. There is some oak spice, but it is measured and in balance. As far as the fruit: applesauce, caramelized pear, and toffee apples. Yes indeed, the Armagnac is chewy and has a wonderful texture. The flavors are integrated in the sense that no one flavor sticks out, or is heavy handed. The time spent in the barrel has allowed the flavors to melt and marry. Despite the chewy texture, there is not an ounce of sweetness in the mouthfeel. This is due to somewhat grainy tannins and tingly rustic finish that cause the cheeks to contract under the teeth. Grainy or rustic should not be taken with a negative connotation. Here they add character and provide a touch of firmness to the finish that contrasts the heavier layered texture - heavier layered texture compared to Cognac, that is. The 1995 delivers in its aromas, flavors, and sensations. It’s clearly an Armagnac, but it’s not too far of a departure from the Cognacs we all hold dear to our hearts. This is a fantastic gateway into the world of Armagnac.

Why buy:

You’re curious to explore Armagnac but want a relatively friendly gateway into the spirit. The Armagnac Marcillac 1995 is without a doubt the one for you!

Armagnac Marcillac Vintage 1964: Flawless Maturity

Armagnac Marcillac Vintage Collection 1964 01

Available

Armagnac Marcillac Vintage Collection 1964

£ 350

Highly Recommended 89 /100

Reviews:

(5/5) Stars By Alain C. on 16 May 2021

OUTSTANDING ARMAGNAC

This Armagnac is highly aromatic, with fruity and floral aroma, complex but soft on the palate.very balanced and smooth finish. An amazing vintage!

(5/5) Stars By Patrick D. on 8 November 2020

A DEFINING MOMENT THAT SWITCHED ME FROM COGNAC TO ARMAGNAC

To be honest, as a Cognac connoisseur, I picked this bottle of Armagnac because its packaging. I love the way its modern wooden casket gradually reveals the ancient mousquetaire's cross as I open it and stage it before serving the precious liquor to my wife and friends. Probably and somewhat unconsciously it signaled the promise that fond memories would spring from the past into my busy life. And that is exactly what I experienced with the glass.

Armagnac is Cognac PLUS: Same wonders coming from the fine alcohol aged in a perfect wooden barrel for so many years, PLUS an incredible richness of flavors and perfumes tracing back to the very grapes and the very soil and the unique year it was harvested from. This shows down through the tears in that bottle...

The Armagnac House of Marcillac has ancient roots that go all the way back to the 12th century when its estate was founded by Prémonté monks who would produce Armagnac in their monastery. Fast forward to 1900 and the Marcillac family acquired the estate to once again distill wine for Armagnac. The family ensured to maintain the traditions of the Domaine by following the exact same vinification, distillation, and aging process that the monks had used many centuries ago.

The estate, located in the Ténarèze terroir of Armagnac, is today run by Robert, the fourth generation of the Marcillac family. In 2018 his nephew, Calliste, took on the challenge of bottling an exclusive collection of very old and rare vintages that were produced, distilled, and aged on theestate. The collection aims to modernize the image of Armagnac with a sophisticated and elegant brand image and bottle design, yet with the same traditional values of production applied to the spirit held within.

One of the factors that makes this Armagnac collection from Marcillac so special, is the restrictions it is produced under. Due to the limited production, there will never be more than 500 bottles released for each vintage in a given year for a given age and only the rarest and very best vintages of the estate have been chosen for the collection. Each vintage was selected for its unique personality within its decade. Whilst they all share the common Ténarèze characteristics of a frank and powerful initial attack, they also all gradually reveal their own intriguing identities.

Where is Armagnac Made?

Armagnac is also produced in South West France, but in a region known as the Pays de Gascogne. This is found west of the city of Toulouse and extends between the rivers of the Adour and the Garonne, in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. Although it covers an extensive landscape, there are only around 37,000 hectares of vineyards, from which around 6 million bottles of Armagnac are produced each year. (This is a drop in the ocean compared with more than 217 million bottles of Cognac produced in 2019).

In the same way as the Cognac growth region, that of Armagnac is also divided into different terroirs. These number three (as opposed to Cognac’s six) and are called: