Domaine D'Esperance XO Armagnac

Domaine D'Esperance is run by the legendary de Montesquiou family. Their lineage dates back at least 900 years and they've inspired numerous people with their exploits, most famously documented by Alexandre Dumas in his book The Three Musketeers. The wines they produced in the Gascony region over the centuries were just as popular and after a 400yr hiatus they are back in business with some incredible Armagnacs. This XO is a blend of eau de vies that are all a minumum of 10 years old. They are aged first in new oak for a short period of time before being decanted into used barrels for the duration of the maturation process. The result yields a spirit rich in color with a deep copper tone. Enticing floral aromas of jasmine and rose hips transition beautifully into ripe fruit notes of bruised apples coated with cinnamon and dense orange blossom honey. On the palate, the mouth-coating texture really shows off the maturity of the XO and flavors of caramel, vanilla, nutmeg and other spices dominate. There is a really nice balance of delicacy and boldness achieved here. No artificial coloring or flavoring is ever added. This is amongst the first bottlings from this producer to make it stateside and we couldn't be more thrilled to offer them to the lucky few who will get them while they last.