Grape of the Art - Baron Gaston Legrand 39 Year Old 1986 Cask Strength Cask 32

Selected by German independent bottler Grape of the Art, this 1986 Bas-Armagnac was produced from Baco and Ugni Blanc grapes and matured for 39 years before being bottled at its natural cask strength of 47.1%. Cask #32 yielded just 238 bottles and represents the first cask-strength Bas-Armagnac release from Baron Gaston Legrand.

More unusually, Baron Gaston Legrand was taken over by Cognac house Lhéraud in 1998. According to the bottler, Lhéraud was granted special permission to continue maturing Armagnac in the Cognac region. Cask #32 was likewise aged for many years in Lhéraud’s local cellars, giving this high-aged Bas-Armagnac a particularly distinctive background.

Official Tasting Notes:  
Fruit leads on the nose, with a mixture of stone fruits and dried fruits, and almost no oak. On the palate, the oak steps forward but never takes over. The 39 years of maturation are clearly evident, yet the fruit and wood remain beautifully balanced, supported by leather, tobacco and a touch of toffee. The texture is rich and rather weighty, dry rather than sweet. The finish is medium-long and dry, carried by dark fruits.