I am a true fan of Delord armagnac, I found out they really match my taste in ways that are difficult to describe, maybe some leather stripes/wood infusion that I go crazy for... This blend is the only cask strength armagnac sold by Delord at the moment, and from informations on site the vintages are from the mid eighties (you sometimes find information about this being a blend of sixties to seventies vintages but it simply cannot be, otherwise it would be more expensive and lower ABV).
Nose: this is a different beast than other Delord products, higher pitched at the beginning. Actually it used to be more accessible when I just opened the bottle, now I have to wait more in order to let the nose develop. If I'm patient enough, I get nuts and almonds, coffee, cedar wood, candied apricots and some kind of cake topping... If I'm even more patient I get hints of fur (yes, I did say "fur", and I do appreciate it... wtf...).
Palate: the oak and cedar are very present here, sustained by fruits: apricots and peaches (general yellow fruits). This is definitely different from his 40% cousins.
Finish: here comes the vanilla together with oak and from time to time there a clear cigare presence that comes forward. I can also find this leather presence that I enjoy so much (not sure I can actually call that "leather" but it's the best I can do) in Delord if I search hard enough but it comes out better with a few drops of water... However water tends to shorten the finish, which is otherwise pleasantly persistent
A different way to appreciate my Delord, very much appreciated, although I can't say it is much better to have a cask strength version, just different. I seem to recognise some Colombard influence in this blend, I'd be curious to have the details of the composition... What can be said for this stuff is that it pairs very well with a cigare, I had great success with a Ramon Allones Specially Selected that was more on coconut and not so much on leather, but this sauce allowed for the leather in both cigare and armagnac to come out in the light, very nice !
