Carafe 2005/2025 - 20 yo - Armagnac Darroze

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 49% | Chill filtration: Yes | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This decanter release from the Unique Collection brings together a single vintage and twenty years of maturation in oak casks. The Bas-Armagnac was distilled in 2005 and bottled in 2025. Made entirely from Baco grapes, it combines ripe fruit with a lively, expressive character.

The release comprises 400 decanters. The teardrop-shaped glass vessel features a black label with gold and white lettering and comes in dark brown gift packaging. Each decanter contains 0.7 litres of Armagnac at 49% alcohol; no colouring is added.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Dried plums, figs and candied orange peel lead on the nose. Walnut and cedarwood complement the fruit, with subtle hints of vanilla, leather and tobacco.
• Palate: The Armagnac is full-bodied and balanced on the palate. Caramelised sugar, dark chocolate and toasted almonds combine with nutmeg, cinnamon and a little pepper. The fruit remains perceptible, with subtle oak notes and tannins lending it structure.
• Finish: The long finish is velvety, leaving dried fruit, oak and a delicate rancio note.

Distillery/Bottler:

The story of Darroze began in Jean Darroze’s restaurant in Villeneuve-de-Marsan, where his son Francis discovered the wines and spirits of Gascony. From the late 1960s onwards, Francis increasingly sought out distinctive spirits from small producers in Bas-Armagnac, selecting them, allowing them to mature further and bottling them. His approach was to preserve the individual character of each estate in small, traceable lots.

Marc Darroze joined the company in 1994 and now runs the house. Around twenty estates contribute to the collection, with the spirits continuing to mature in the warehouses at Roquefort and Labastide d’Armagnac. Darroze works with spirits from small estate owners and mobile distillers. Selection, overseeing maturation and bottling are the house’s principal activities.

During maturation, Darroze considers the warehouse climate alongside oak quality and cask toasting. Humid conditions encourage greater alcohol loss and softer tannins, while dry warehouses slow maturation and allow longer periods in cask. Slow oxidation can develop rancio notes: mature aromatic impressions that also appear in the finish of this release.

Facts: