Grape of the Art Hontambère 1989 Armagnac

What?
Grape of the Art Hontambere 1989 co-bottling with SWELL DE SPIRITS Armagnac Ténarèze, Cask #A5, 33 years old, 55.9% cask strength, Ugni Blanc

Who?
Grape of the Art is back with an early Fall release, this time as a co-bottling with the dynamic French bottler SWELL DE SPIRITS. Chateau de Hontambère is the Armagnac producer with whom they collaborated and from whose stock they made this excellent Armagnac selection. Chateau de Hontambère is run by Sylvain Lafargue and Cindy Crighton. They grow all the typical Armagnac grape varieties, distill with a 100 year old column still, and always adhere to the philosophy - straight from the barrel, no additives, no colorants. Hontambère also purchases old and rare barrels from the region’s small grower-producers, such as the Domaine Pouchégu situated in the Ténarèze region of the Gers department. Domaine Pouchégu had been producing Armagnac from 1863 to 2014, until its master distiller Pierre Laporte fell seriously ill. Much of the producer’s stock ended up at Chateau de Hontambere, where the barrels remain under Sylvain’s and Cindy’s attentive care. Remember that 1986 Grape of the Art Hontambere? That came from the Pouchégu stock, and so does this latest 1989 release.

Where?
Armagnac Ténarèze

How?
This 1989 Armagnac is made from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes.The casks favored were made of new Limousin oak, with its coarser grain. Overall, the profile of Pouchégu Armagnacs is said to be highly complex, sophisticated, full-bodied, powerful, oily, and with a strong signature from the barrel - and this is certainly the case again with this most recent Grape of the Art 1989 Hontambère edition. The Armagnac aged for thirty-three years in a dark humid cellar. Like all bottlings from Grape of the Art and Chateau de Hontambere, it is bottled at its natural cask strength 55.9%. Of course, there are no additives whatsoever. The haunting aromas that explore out of the glass have notes of dark cherries, Sicilian oranges, ripe mangoes, toxic glues, and fragrant precious woods. It’s an Armagnac of depth and complexity, with its full body and pleasant sweetness. In a word, intoxicating!