Due to my late post, I am keeping the notes shorter than usual. These releases might be still available somewhere, though – and worth looking out for.

Cognac Jean-Luc Pasquet Lot 79 Grape of the Art 41 y.o. Grande Champagne 2022 52,3%

This Ugni Blanc Cognac matured in a Limousin Oak Cask in a humid cellar and was bottled at cask strength (273 bottles). Again, like many of the GOTA-releases, it has traces of pot still rum – within the cognac range of aromas. First it plays it close to the chest, then it opens beautifully. Spices, smoked herbs, leafy moments, pastry, lemon zest, ginger, vanilla, quinces, apples, white chocolate, plums and gooseberries. On the palate it starts bitter and turns to fruit then. Cooked lemons, spices (even incense), grapes, vanilla, plums, eucalypt take center stage and then lead into a medium-long finish of  elegance.

Score: 89+

Armagnac Hontambère 36 y.o. Domaine Pouchégu 1985 Grape of the Art cask #H6 Ténarèze 56,6%

My favourite so far – wow! Ugni Blanc-grapejuice matured in a wet cellar rendered 350 bottles at cask strength. This is dark and juicy, not dry yet deep as the Mariana trench – nuts, raisins, maraschino-cherries, mahogani-wood, cristallized orange skins, lime blossom and what not – mature perfection. The taste keeps up: dark berries, raisins and morello cherries, baking spices, polished tropical woods, incredibly complex like very old sherried Speyside whisky. This Tour de Force finishes long and high class – amazing pick, boys!

Score: 92

Armagnac Domaine de Danis 33 y.o. Grape of the Art 1988 cask #34 Ténarèze 47,6%

The brighter twin of Hontambère, a Folle Blanche eau de vie matured in a wet cellar again, 387 bottles at cask strength. Full transparency as always with GOTA. Very round, pastry-like, dried apricots, bergamot, limoncello, warm cedar wood, wine gums and redcurrant and blueberries, Martinique-rhum. It tastes warm and citric, now daisies on green meadows join cardamom, berries, dark wood spice, plum cake and vanilla. So nice and light, it escapes your senses too quickly unless you drink the next sip. Drift away, my friends, this is a summer dream. And I swear, I had written this note before I saw the image.

Score: 91

Armagnac Séailles 32 y.o. GOTA 1988 – 11.2021, Cask #76, 203 btl., 50% (Cask Strength, Ugni Blanc Grapes, Tenareze)

Comment: This is a Tour de Force, a big boy, not your average Armagnac, also different from the previous Séailles release. Bold, bitter, balsamic and spice-laden start. Jamaica meets Armagnac … lamp oil on mahogany, resin, glue, licorice and cloves accompany candle wax, flowers, mint leaves, brown banana and rum. Holy feathered cow! It becomes sweeter now on marzipan, nuts and grapejuice. I also get some aniseed. Powerhouse, muscle show, not sublte at all. On the palate it arrives rather dry with a combo of wooden bitterness and juicy wine aromas, also becoming sweeter with time. Mulled wine, cloves, nutmeg, tar and resin, many spices. The finish rounds off this wild ride on bitter chocolate and grapes. Altogether, not for the faint-hearted or the purist, this is atypical yet interesting, whatever you prefer. For me, being a fan of harmony and finesse, this is too much – but I know this Armagnac will split the crowd. Try for yourself. I did three times, too much disco for this old dude writing this note. Thanks for letting me taste it anyway, GOTA-team!

Score: 86

Armagnac De Belair 27 y.o. GOTA 11.1993 – 11.2021, Cask #8L, 120 btl., 52,2% (Baco Grapes, Bas Armagnac)

Comment: Way more my style of Armagnac, what a joyous nose of harmony. A classic with reminiscence of an old Sherry Malt, slight noble dryness. Freshly polished mahogany furniture with some dust in forgotten corners, dates, maraschino-cherries and raisins, hazelnuts and coconut touch, menthol, Asian spices, lemon grass, Javanese cubeb pepper, pastry, vanilla, berry-joghurt – Baco bang! It tastes just like the nose suggests, butter and nuts create rancio, Sherry, balsamic notes, well-tuned. The finish is becoming sweeter and fruitier, medium length. A fine Armagnac in an old style. Great choice! Get this!

Score: 89 – 90

Just like us, they want to share their passion for fine grape juice, esp. Armagnac, with the world and with whisky connoisseurs in particular. They sampled, traveled and learned that only few products match their expectations. So they wanted to change that and import themselves. They aim for unaltered and undiluted single casks of high quality, a road less traveled but so rewarding. The boys don’t limit themselves to Armagnacs only as their third release is a Saint Lucia Rum.

Let’s try their first releases:

Armagnac Domaine Le Frêche 13 y,o, GotA #1, 2007, 57%

Comment: This was found in the cellars of L’Encantada and stood out for quality, the cask only rendered 150 bottles at cask strength. I am stunned how mature it is after ‚only‘ 13 years. An amazing nose, dense, juicy, powerful yet balanced and with quite some rancio already. There are marzipan, assorted glazed nuts, leather, vanilla, dandelion, marigold, pepper and fruit (plums, raspberries, morello cherries, red- and blackcurrant, berry tea), Indian joss sticks and incense. Deep, dude! In the mouth it starts drier than expected and a bit demerara-esque. Licorice, mahogani and furniture polish, concentrated grape juice with dark fruitiness, chocolate raisins and spices. The heaviness carries on into a wonderful finish that leaves you craving another glass. A worthy first pick!

Score: 90

Armagnac Domaine Séailles 20 y.o., GotA #2, 2000, 54%

Comment: The second release has a nice unearthing story, let me quote: „Today we introduce you to Domaine de Séailles from Ténarèze – a small, artisanal wine & Armagnac producer founded by the Labérenne family and now passionately run by the super sympathetic winemaker Julien. By a stroke of luck, we followed a road sign as we passed through and ended up at a rustic and lovely estate. There we were allowed to explore the entire atmospheric warehouse (with chandeliers!) and were just blown away by the variety of styles!“ Again, cask strength, no additives, a single cask, 195 bottles of joy.

And yep, they picked another winner. This is sporting brighter fruits and oaky elements like caramel, vanilla, Asian spice, pepper, cedar – white oak? It is even more complex than its predecessor. I find glazed pastries, marzipan, nuts, rancio, flowers, tea, fruits (lemons, plums, chriies and berries) and this succulent red grape juiciness. It tastes excellent, even better than the nose, less wood now, more fruit juice and rancio, a complex balance with echoes of the nose. Elegant finish, very quaffable too. Super!

Score: 90+

Rum Saint Lucia Distillers 15 y.o., Chairman’s Reserve for GotA & Rum X, 2005, 61,5%

Comment: A real authentic rum that aged in a Bourbon cask in tropical climate only- wow. The make consists of 50% John Dore and 50% Vendôme. And what a funky fella‘ this is, holy cow. Not for beginners, sweet teeth or faint-hearted, more for us suckers of ‚da dirt‘ Imagine a small plastic producer’s backyard near a forest on which all kind of junk is stored: old paint, tar, diesel, rubber, dried-up glue stick (Pritt), bruised blood oranges, bananas and limes and the production hall smells on the side – weird but nice. The forest freshness and earthy tones I am getting now are joined by hints of vanilla, salt, leather, ground pepper, spices (cinnamon, cardamom), minty gum, licorice and black olive tapenade. On the palate it arrives oily and dirty as expected. Sour battery acid meets sweet minty lemon drop (Gletschereis candy), olives, rubber and pine cones. It is becoming sweeter with fruit, almonds and spice, huge complexity, rewarding finish. Don’t get me wrong, it is an unusual and funky one, but very interesting and of high quality. But you should be into such rums.

Score: 87+

Good luck, boys, and thank you for letting me sample – carry on!