Bas Armagnac Les grandes assemblages 12 ans Darroze

For several generations, the Darroze family has scoured Gascony in the Grands Crus centre of the Bas Armagnac region. Thousands of centuries old treasures are held in stock at the Darroze house. This diversity in crus, vintages, grape varieties and styles has allowed Marc Darroze to work on this range known as « Les Grands Assemblages » (The Great Blends). Chosen for their complementary characteristics, the selected armagnacs in each blend are of different ages. Each age on the bottle indicates the age of the youngest Armagnac in the blend. The fruity aromas in the younger blends, with flavours of chocolate and coffee for the older eaux de vie, change to notes of spices and candied fruits at around 30 years old; the aromatic palette evolves naturally over the years. You can discover this evolution in each blend. Many years of ageing in 400 litre oak barrels have conferred suaveness and roundness on the tannins so that each « Grand Assemblage » reveals its own proper balance between the alcohol, the aromas and the tannins. After 10 years in contact with the oak, Armagnac starts to take on the aromas of ageing. The fruit that is still present, is accompanied by the first aromas of soft spices such as liquorice and cinnamon. Still quite fiery, this eau de vie will become more complex after a few minutes breathing in your glass.