2004 LaRoche-Vacquie 22 Year Old "Single Oak" Batch LRV-01 Single Cask #81 Cask Strength Haut-Armagnac (750ml)

LaRoche-Vacquié is one of the great revival stories in French spirits. Bruno and Sylvie Compagnon purchased this former apple and prune farm overlooking Lectoure in 1986, nearly a century after phylloxera had erased Armagnac production from the area. Bruno began replanting vines in 1990, helping resurrect Haut-Armagnac and earning a knighthood for his work in 1997. This astonishing 2004 vintage comes from cask #81 bis, matured for 22 years exclusively in French sessile oak from Tronçais and bottled in 2026 at its natural strength of 55.7% ABV. It is a true single-cask Armagnac, neither reduced nor filtered, drawn from a barrel that is now exhausted. Production begins with estate-grown Ugni Blanc and Colombard cultivated on limestone, clay, and chalk soils. The wine is distilled only once before entering oak, preserving the character of both vintage and place. The Compagnons converted the property to organic farming in 2008, use no pesticides, and have powered the estate with solar energy since 2011. Every bottle is sealed, dated, labeled, and numbered by hand. Haut-Armagnac accounts for only about 1% of total Armagnac production, and LaRoche-Vacquié is the only producer in the appellation with vintages extending back to 1991. A 22-year-old cask-strength release from this nearly lost terroir would be rare under any circumstances; with only 24 bottles remaining from the finished cask, this is truly microscopic.