1998 Domaine du Cardinat 23 Year Old K&L Exclusive Bas-Armagnac (750ml)

Staff Reviews

MP

Michael Pires

Michael Pires

This 23 year aged Armagnac is showing great and shares the same notes of baking spice, cola nut, Demerara sugar, and orchard fruit that the 16 year aged 2005 Cardinat had. What makes this unique when compared to the 16 year is that the oak is more integrated and the finish is much smoother. Delicious and well worth the price for a 23 year old spirit for less than $100.

Notes

Domaine du Cardinat has been in the Lalanne family for over a century. Farmer and grandfather of the current proprietor, Patricia Singh, built the family home at the domaine 100 years ago and cultivated the land long before that. In 1935, Joseph Lalanne's sudden death thrust Patricia's father, Camille into the fields forcing him to leave school and commit his life to the family domaine. Just four years later, Camille planted the first vines at the domaine and his life was devoted to this patient passion. There he worked tirelessly to produce great brandy, but his marketing was almost entirely word of mouth, relying on tourists stumbling upon the domaine and friends and family to return each year to place their orders. Camille's daughter, a certified viticulture and oenology specialist, left the domaine to pursue a career in marketing. She returned to work alongside her father a year before his death in 2010. Patricia made the bold decision to continue Camille's legacy accompanied by her husband Mr. Singh. We're lucky she did because their stocks are exceptional. Cardinat is in the tiny village Sarragachies in the western edge of the Gers directly in between the great Armagnac villages of Lannemaignan and Castex. The '98 is a very typical Cardinat - big, rich and powerful style that retains balance and freshness of fruit and doesn't lean too far toward bitter. As with all the Cardinats, this represents one of the best values in Bas-Armagnac if you prefer this richer style.