1983 Chateau de Pellehaut 36 Year Old "K&L Exclusive" Vintage Tenareze Armagnac (750ml)

I didn't buy the '83 cynically, despite it being my birth vintage and an absolutely stupidly good value for a 36 year old brandy. We've had the Pellehaut 1983 before, nearly 5 years ago now, and it's always stood out as one of my favorite vintages from the brand. They don't offer true single barrels at the estate as they're doing a lot of work to blend and homogenize within a vintage, it's extremely interesting to see how a vintage develops over the years. The 83 has always been on the dense darker side of things, but the vintage is now showing a surmaturité that's not present in the other two offerings. The nose is moving fully toward the dense dried stone fruit, rich nut oils and that elusive complexity known as rancio. The palate is extremely supple and long, with a big sweetness that's unique to this offering and a surprising bevy of dark roasty flavors - hazelnuts, arabica, tobacco leaf, dried quince and sweet cooked herbs. The fact that we can sell this for $100, the same price as any number of bourbon or scotch, is proof that the golden age of brandy is upon us.