Domaine D'Ognoas 1968 Bas Armagnac

Bas-Armagnacs that are 50 years old are rare: the most obvious reason is that traditional armagnacs come out of the still at 52% ABV, and if you lose somewhere between .2 or .3 degrees a year, in 35 years or so, you would be at the legal limit of 40% ABV from which an armagnac can be sold. It's only in extremely humid conditions of a storage chai that armangacs can hope to evolve the way that this 1968 has. Imagine, in 1968, man had not yet walked on the moon, Jimi Hendrix was still alive, Richard Nixon was beginning his presidency and the Beatles had not yet released Abbey Road. So what do we have here with the Ognoas after 50 years? The answer is an impressive, impeccably aged armagnac. Dried fruits (prunes, cherries), aged saddle leather, polished sandalwood, walnuts and woodsmoke. The fruit continues to hang on, despite this armagnac's age, and its finish lasts for several minutes. Excellent stuff!  Charles Neal, The Armagnac Man