Description
Distilled then matured for almost 50 years in Gascony oak barrels, this Bas-Armagnac has a well-rounded nose which combines vanilla and fruity notes, while on the palate it has wonderfully long, lingering aromas of dried fruits, walnut and fig. One of a kind!
Chateau de Laubade is an Armagnac producer based in Sorbets d’Armagnac, in the Bas Armagnac brandy appellation of South West France. The château is one of the few properties in Armagnac to grow the four traditional grape varieties of the appellation (Ugni Blanc, Baco, Colombard, and Folle Blanche), and is the largest producer of Baco.
The château was built in 1870 and practices single distillation via a pot still, or alembic, that was installed in 1974 when the current owners, the Lesgourgues family, took over. The property boasts one of the largest inventories of its appellation, with Armagnacs dating back to before 1930.
Château de Laubade has 105 hectares (260 acres) of vines that grow on sand and fine siliceous soil, known as “boulbenes” in the region. The château is the only Armagnac house to cooper its own barrels and uses oak from forests around the property in Gascony.
The cellar master has access to seven different aging cellars for blending.
Château de Laubade produces three distinct ranges of Armagnac. The Les Classiques range comprises the various aging tiers from the Extra to XO, the Intemporel (Hors d’Age) and the VSOP.
The Les Hédonistes range includes the Bruts de Fût (effectively a cask-strength vintage bottling), the Intemporel No5 (an extra-aged version of the Intemporel) and the aromatic, Folle Blanche-based La Blanche d’Armagnac.
The range is completed by the vintage bottlings (Les Millésimes), generally divided into the more recent vintages (Millésimes Célébration) between 15 and 50 years old and library stock (Millésimes Collection) which runs to vintage Armagnac over 50 years old.
