ARMORIK 12 ans 2009 Sherry Single Cask Conquête

Color : topaze à reflets verts.

Nose : rich, unctuous. On the first nose, aromas of spice bread, toasted walnut and black liquorice symbolize the sherry cask ageing with rare intensity. Allowed to breathe, dried grapes and black fruits (bramble, blackcurrant, elderflower) accentuate this very energetic expression. With time, lime blossom honey, mango and candied orange appear over aromas of earth and forest floor (humus, lichen).

Palate : distinguished, dynamic. Wavering between flavours of juniper berry, coriander, black pepper, chocolate, verbena and candied fruit (pear, lemon), the start of the finish is bright and radiant. While vanilla, roasted (pipe tobacco), slightly hot (paprika) and spicy (star anise, clove), the mid-palate also reveals notes of plantain banana and toffee. The end of the palate is powdery (rice, cocoa) and herbal (camomile, chouchen).

Overall : long, very sappy. At the start of the finish, nutmeg, grated ginger, celery and caramel bring out the meaty aromas (smoked bacon) buried in our memory. Outstanding. The finish then reclaims its pilgrim’s staff and heads to Andalusia and its fields of Palomino Fino and Pedro Ximenez. On the retro-nasal olfaction, tobacco, coffee and chicory scents take centre stage. Without changing a bit, the empty glass returns to the complexity of the first nose.