ALCHEMIST - Chateau de Castex 14 Year Old 70cl Bottle

This 14 year old example has the colour of bright ochre/gold. Honeyed raisins, chocolate, coffee and vanilla dominate the palate with a nose to die for. Rich, with lots of toasted oak. Very smooth and long with flavours of sweet oranges and vanilla. Chateau de Castex de Armagnac is owned and run by the Saint Pastou family and dominates the plain of Midou and the village of Monguilhem in the heart of Bas-Armagnac. It is located 150 km to the south of Bordeaux. Armagnac has been produced at Chateau de Castex since 1855 and is almost unique in that the entire process from the growing of the grapes to the distillation and warehousing is done within the Domaine. The wine intended for distillation is produced exclusively from Ugni Blanc gapes grown in the vineyards on the property, then, after vinification it is distilled in a column still in the traditional single distillation method. All the Eaux de vie is then filled into new barrels made of locally grown Black Oak. After about 5 years the spirit is then transferred into older barrels to continue aging. Due to the single distillation Armagnac needs a good time maturing to smooth out the more characterful elements of the distillate. All the barrels are matured in old storehouses formed in a semi circle around the Chateau where venerable old Armagnacs dating back to 1936 still slumber. The Black Oak gives a deep mahogany colour to the Armagnac and the long slow maturation gently reduces the strength to 42% vol. Until very recently, Castex was only available in the local market the stock having been built up by the father of the current owners over many years. The Alchemist has been very lucky in being able to visit the property and select particular barrels for bottling.

Price: £37.69
Merchant: TheDrinkShop
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