The Little Death

1992 Chateau de Lacquy

ESSAY #1, REVIEW #1

Gazing into the 1992 Chateau de Lacquy, seduced by its glowing amber body, shimmering gold highlights and eager bouquet, I have to admit to myself: I’ve become obsessed with Armagnac. This ancient, artisanal spirit from the southwest of France has held me captivated for more than ten years. The beginning of the end of my coveted bottle has provoked me into reflection on the genesis of my infatuation with the brandy.

~

One cold and wet January day, my now-wife and I traveled north, our destination a rustic cabin nestled in the woods. We stopped off at a small grocery in a small town to secure a few supplies. I brought an Alec Bradley cigar to enjoy in the damp woodland, and was seeking a dark spirit to accompany the smoke and warm my belly. I strolled into the liquor section and was eyeing the single malt scotches when a clerk approached me, a rosy-cheeked young woman in a grocer’s smock.

Hi! Can I help you find something?

Well I’m looking for a good scotch to pair with a cigar.

The Balvenie 12 is nice, or the Laphroaig 10. Or you could try an Armagnac.

Hmm. I don’t know much about Armagnac. She explained the basics: it’s a French brandy made from grapes, distilled, then aged in oak barrels. She picked up a bottle of Marie Duffau Armagnac and posited its earthy flavor and subtle sweetness would complement the smoke.

Why not, said I.

Indeed, the next morning on the deck of the cabin, the Marie Duffau was a delightful companion to the cigar. The Armagnac’s rustic flavors contained within them the entirety of the scene: the wood cabin, the moist earth and the thin rays of light that escaped down through the forest canopy. I enjoyed its balance of sweetness and bitterness, and if memory serves, a bit of a nutty character. I continued to draw a few sips from this bottle over the next couple of years, not knowing much of the spirit except that it was French and I liked it.

~

Some 10 years and 200 Armagnac tastings later, and before me stands a treasured bottle of Armagnac that always stirs excitement, from a producer I admire. The 1992 Chateau de Lacquy is a beautiful and refined Armangnac crafted by a tenth-generation distiller on an elegant farm in a forgotten corner of France. I cherish each taste.  

The color of the spirit, shimmering behind the elegant label, is one of its most alluring qualities. The brandy, though by now less than a fourth remaining, is a beautiful hue of ochre bending to orange, with aureate highlights streaking along the curved edges.

The scent is present and bright while showcasing brown nougat, orange oil, rubbing alcohol and a faint trace of bitter black licorice twists.

Upon first taste, the brandy has a smooth, thin, almost oily texture. Initially light and sweet with notes of honey, vanilla and concentrated apple cider, it slowly builds in a swirl of golden hay. After a few moments, the alcohol takes hold and releases a crescendo of oak, sweet tobacco and rancio.

The sweetness exhales on the finish and gives way to a petit mort of delicate astringency, lightly bitter rancio, and a clutch of herbs, reminiscent of Fernet Branca. The flavor lingers long, slowly fading like a luminous orange sun descending behind rolling hills.

So many brandies aspire to display delicate florals, sweet fruits or a depth of dark flavors. This Lacquy has them all, presented in an exceedingly elegant manner.

But strangely, as much as I’m enjoying this spirit and reveling in the cycles of sweet buildup and woody apogee, I’m saddened. The joy of this tasting is dampened by the reality that I’m approaching bottle’s end. I’ve grown ever appreciative of this brandy’s expression, but now the last sips are counted in single digits. When I find an Armagnac as dazzling as this, I relish it and wish it would last forever. I want to buy up a case and squirrel the bottles away, slowly sipping over the decades to my heart’s content. If I did have but one bottle more, I might not open it. After all, some pleasures are greater in anticipation than actuality.

I’ve searched high and low for another ‘92 Lacquy in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere, and have come up empty. It simply isn’t procurable. In this digital age we are used to getting what we want when we want it. Most pleasures today are but a few clicks away, instantly downloadable, on your doorstep in a day.

But Armagnac is an artisanal, gloriously low production spirit. A vintage single-cask Armagnac may have as few as 300 bottles produced, and when it’s gone, it’s gone.

There are indeed other excellent Lacquy vintages, each exhibits its own slate of characteristics and flavors shaped by its unique exposure to heat, sun, rain, oak casks, oxygen, and a myriad of choices of the producer. This Lacquy no doubt has attractive sisters, but there is only one ’92.

In the end there is little difference between the final whisp of drink and the last breath of life. This moment, though seemingly trivial, affords the witness of a Little Death. It is the gentlest of whispers in my ear, reminding me of the impermanence of all things, from the frivolous to the paramount. Who have I taken for granted? What have I failed to appreciate? Let us savor and appreciate those things that truly matter while we can. And be willing to let go when we must.

1992 Chateau de Lacquy Bas Armagnac

Aged in Limousin oak for 24 years

44% alcohol by volume

When to drink: Out of doors on a chilly morning when the sun is beaming, a few glistening leaves have not yet fallen, and you still have time to tell someone you love them.

Score: 93

AOML Rating scale:

<75 Not recommended

75-79 Average, contains some flaws

80-84 Good, well-made Armagnac

85-89 Very good, an Armagnac with special qualities

90-94 Outstanding, an Armagnac of exceptional character and style

95-100 Classic, an Armagnac for the ages