Review: 1994 Chateau de Pellehaut 20 Year Old Armagnac

1994 Chateau de Pellehaut 20 Year Old Armagnac - 2014 bottling - 48.5%, $70

This is one of my all time favorite Armagnacs.  Pellehaut was my first ever taste of Armagnac and the first bottle I ever purchased.  I have a certain nostalgia due to that but I also love the style and value of Pellehaut.  Pellehaut is a bourbon drinkers Armagnac.  They bottle at higher proof than most Armaganac producers and their expressions tend to be big, bold and full of oak but well balanced all while being very reasonably priced,  Pellehaut is a mark of quality, I have never been disappointed by anything from them.

Nose: This is extremely fragrant with a beautiful nose.  First up is caramel, then it's the fruit, candied orange and peach.  Oak is there too along with a little bit of cinnamon.  This nose packs a punch and I could smell it all day.  This makes my mouth water.

Taste:  It's like there is a party in my mouth.  Big thick honey flavor, sweet toffee.  This is sweet up front with an undercurrent of oak that keeps it balanced and helps structure the big body.  This is full of flavor.  The sweetness gives way to oak and finishes dry but this is never astringent.  The oak is extremely well integrated.

Conclusion: This is big, bold and flavorful.  Drinking this is like going home again.  It reminds me of why I first fell in love with Pellehaut and Armagnac.  This was worth every penny and then some.

Review: Chateau de Pellehaut 14 Year Old Armagnac

The first bottle of Armagnac, and first bottle of brandy, I ever bought was an 18 year old Chateau de Pellehaut.  It was love at first sip.  I loved that bottle and while it is long gone, and that vintage has since passed, there have been several to replace it since and I continue to be in love.  Pellehaut has a house style that I really love.  They bottle with proofs high enough to leave some boldness and their expressions are generally pretty oaky.  Coming from the world of bourbon Pellehaut made for an easy transition to brandy.  They are still one of my favorite producers today.


Review: Chateau de Pellehaut 14 Year Old Armagnac - Distilled in 2001, bottled in 2015, 49%.

Appearance: A beautiful amber, light caramel.

Nose: Alcohol, oak spice, dry with some apricot.

Taste: A bit of sweetness up front, a brown sugar type sweetness.  A little vanilla.  The finish is dry with some noticeable oak which fades into a bit of astringency but not in an unpleasant way.

Conclusion:  This is more fruit forward than the other Pellehauts I've had which makes sense given the age.  There is a good balance of fruit and oak though this is drier and oakier than I would have ever guessed given the age.  At 49% this has some boldness.  The alcohol makes itself known.  If you are looking for a subtle pour this probably isn't it but if you are looking for something a bit more bold and just a tad rough around the edges this will do nicely.

This is a regular pour for me.  At $50 a bottle I think it's a fantastic bargain.  I try a lot of different brandies and there are so many to choose from that it's not often that I buy another bottle of the same thing from the same year but I went through this one pretty quick and the sight of the almost empty bottle made me sad so I bought another which is really the highest complement that I can give. This is right square in the middle of the axis between value and quality.