L'Encantada XO Review

I've covered L'Encantada offerings several times now. For those that don't know, these are all the rage in the Armagnac world at the moment which was kicked off by some truly exceptional single casks selected by one specific Brandy group a couple years ago. I've tasted most of those original Lous Pibous casks and they remain the best Armagnacs I've ever had. Ever since then, I feel like we've all been chasing the dragon trying to recreate that magic but thus far I've had mixed results. These days, I'm often leery of new L'Encantada picks because while none of them have been bad, my experiences with the ones I like vs. those that aren't worth the ever increasing cost of admission is batting around .500. It could just be me getting more crotchety when it comes to brown water but I'd suspect it's more likely that the best casks they have to offer have already been selected.

Having said all that, here today we have something which is a little different. Unlike all other L'Encantada products I've had which have been single casks, this product is blend:

• Domaine Lous Pibous 1989 barrel #61
• Domaine Lous Pibous 1987 barrel #87
• Domaine Del Cassou 1994 barrel #55
• Domaine Bellair 1997 barrel #181

I'm intrigued. My hope here is the range of ages makes for a nice of balance of the fruiter notes you get in younger armagnacs and the lush dark woody notes you get in older ones.

Bas Armagnac; No Age Statement (blend of four vintages); 46.8% ABV (cask strength); $100

Nose: Very bourbony - it smells like a middle aged 90ish proof bourbon. It's laden with caramel, a little bit of stone fruit, and a trace baking spice.

Taste: Fruity and sweet with heavy dose of strawberry. Armagnac almost always leans towards purple fruits for me but this is straight up strawberry jam. There are some wood sugar / caramel notes here too, like what a middle aged bourbon would carry. The finish is a bit short as is expected given the proof but some nice muted baking spice shows up to round things out.

Thoughts: I like this. It's got a lot of bourbon sweet notes and the blast of strawberry is really nice. Even better, it has none of the dry/bitter/overoaked notes I've been getting more often in some of the older L'Encantada picks I've had lately. The only thing here that's really holding it back is the proof. If this was in the 105-110 range I think this would be a knockout. All in all, this is a nice blend and I have no regrets for the price paid. 

Rating: B

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

L'Encantada Le Frêche 1990 #46 (Blackout) & 1988 #22 (Lincoln Road) Reviews

Here is a pair of reviews for two L'Encantada Armagnacs from Domaine Le Frêche. Prior to receiving these, my almost sole experience with L'Encantada has been with Domaine Lous Pibous, most of all which had been great. Let's see if that streak extends to other domaines from this producer.

L'Encantada Le Frêche 1988 Cask No. 22

Bas Armagnac; Aged 29 years; 52%; $150; Selected by Lincoln Road

Nose: Plums and other purple fruits. Some red fruits too. Hefty dose of old, ashy wood. Fairly rich. Heat is non existent.

Taste: Decent viscosity - again like the nose, it's fairly rich. There is a good amount of sugary red/purple fruits and dark chocolate but also a wallop of oak and wood sugars. It tastes like a classic, hyper aged Armagnac but through the mid palate and finish there is a bitter note I liken to walnut shells.

Thoughts: My impression now is better than when I first opened this bottle many months ago. At the time I thought it was overly bitter and the lush sugary sweet grape/date notes I like were really masked. The oak has calmed down and now there's enough of the rich fruit flavors coming through to keep it from being a lost cause. I know I am in the minority as most folks are over the moon for this but I still don't love it. I feel like as time goes on my receptiveness to bitterness is intensifying.

Rating: B-

L'Encantada Le Frêche 1990 Cask No. 46

Bas Armagnac; Aged 27 years; 52.9%; $150?; Selected by Blackout

Nose: Fruitier than the 22. More red fruits than purple and without as much charry oak. It's even more rich than the Lincoln Road and definitely more balanced in sweet vs oak but a little more aggressive in the heat department.

Taste: Creme brûlée, strawberries, grapes, chocolate. There are a lot of bourbon like notes but also enough purple fruit to let you know it's still an Armagnac. There's a touch of heat giving it some umpf but it's still very drinkable. The finish does round out with more oak than the rest of the ride and it teeters on the point bitterness but never quite crosses my line. 

Thoughts: From day one when I opened these I've always preferred the Blackout cask and while the Lincoln Road has improved this one is still the winner for me. While it slants towards a bit more of a bourbon profile it is still distinctly Armagnac. Overall it just feels brighter and less brooding than the Lincoln Road. If it weren't for the slightly rough oak heavy finish this could be near the B+ range for me.

Rating: B

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

2003 L'Encantada "Lous Pibous" No. 183 Review

L'Encantada is an independent bottler that has recently made a name for themselves in the brandy world, largely due to a slew of stellar private selections. While L'Encantada have sourced from several domaines, the most buzz is around casks from Lous Pibous. I've previously covered several of these before, all of which I gave unusually high marks so the bar here is very high. Today I'm covering a bottle selected by Lincoln Road Package Store which has a great reputation for picking excellent casks. I believe this cask (and most or all other Lous Pibous) was aged in new charred oak, is bottled at cask strength, and contains no additional additives.

Bas Armagnac; Aged 14 years; 56.5% ABV; $155 (w/ tax)

Nose: Caramel covered candied raisins. There is a lot of wood influence and a lot of purple fruits. It's very rich and very classic bourbony Lous Pibous Armagnac.

Taste: A jolt of caramel, sugary dates, oak, and spice. The mouthfeel is very viscous - you can almost chew on this stuff. The finish has a lot of spice, a lot of mocha, some dark prunes, and some dry oak. The heavy presence of sweet and fruit notes prevent the oak from taking over to the point of being overly bitter. All around it's very bold in both flavors and punch. If there are any flaws it's that the ethanol is a touch high which probably would have been smoothed out if it aged longer.

Thoughts: This was the youngest Lous Pibous I've tried so going in I was skeptical because of the age. Those fears were definitely misplaced as this is fantastic. If the older legendary Lous Pibous casks like 124, 187, and 188 are equatable to old Willett Bernheim ryes, then this younger one is akin to Thomas Handy. Most all the casks I've had from this domaine are very bourbon or even rye like yet with a wallop of fruity grape / raisin influence and this one is no exception.

Rating: B+ / A-

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.

A Bourbon Drinker's Take on Armagnac, Part 4: The L’Encantada Edition. 1974 Le Sable, 1996 Lous Pibous #187, 1996 Lous Pibous #188, and 1993 Lous Pibous #124 Reviews

A recap for those that missed part 1, part 2, and part 3: I'm well versed in the world of bourbon but have absolutely no idea what I am doing when it comes to Armagnac. What follows are some raw notes from Armagnacs I've tried lately. While most of the ones I've tried up to this point were tasted with zero knowledge of backstory or supposed quality, I had actually heard really good things about L’Encantada and was aware some folks I know were involved in selecting the "Lous Pibous" casks. 

---

L’Encantada 1974 42 year “Le Sable” Bas Armagnac, 40.1%

Smells like a really old, super sweet, funky grapey whiskey. Lots of brown sugar and prunes. The taste is a lot more of the same. Old funky burnt caramel, honey, and brown sugar covered raisins. There is some drying wood as well but it's a lot of sweet and purple fruits. I really like that profile personally as I am sweets junkie. My only complaint is with the lowish proof the flavors that are there are a little thin. Rating: B

L'Encantada "Lous Pibous" 1996 20 year Bas Armagnac #188 53.6%

The nose is classic flavors of brown sugar and raisins. It is very sweet forward and packs quite a wallop given the high ABV. The taste is a lot more of the same: honey, sweet brown sugar, raisins, and dark cocoa. There is also some spice bite that I am not sure if is really a spice note or just the ethanol from the high ABV. The first time I had this it really threw me off as I'd never had an Armagnac at this high ABV. Over time it has really grown on me as I know what to expect going in plus I think it has mellowed out a bit as it's been exposed to air in the bottle. It's definitely a bruiser of a dram for an Armagnac but I am a big fan of how intense it is. Rating: A-

L'Encantada "Lous Pibous" 1996 Bas Armagnac 20 year Barrel #187 54.9%

Drinks easy for 57% but flavor-wise it's very impactful with lots of rich grape, wood, and brown sugar. It's a sweet forward sugar coated raisin bomb up front with some spicy tingle on the finish, mostly likely from the highish proof. A classic middle to upper aged Armagnac profile. While not as bold as my memory of the 188, it's still damn good. These high proof older Armagnacs are really something else. Rating: A

L'Encantada "Lous Pibous" Bas Armagnac 1993 23 year Barrel #124 52.5%

Another grapey, woody, sweet, sugar coated raisin bomb. This one doesn't pack quite the wallop of the 187 or 188 and that's not surprising given the proof. While I enjoy these high proof bruisers I actually feel kind of weird about them as I think the proof detracts from them a little bit. To me, this one drinks closer to the easy drinking but super rich and sweet profile I prefer with some weird funky old flavors. Brown sugar, funky old grapes, old wood, and a hefty proof but not so much that you burn your palate. Those notes are there in the 188 and 187 but they are just a tad too hot such that the funkier elements get a little lost. This one is the nicest balance of proof towards weirdo flavors I've found. Simply wonderful. Rating: A / A+

---

Thoughts: These L'Encantadas are definitely the best Armagnacs I've ever had. As a bourbon guy who has tried some heavily hyped and rare whiskies, I'll go so far as say these up there with the best spirits I've ever tasted. Maybe this just the novelty of a new spirit for me but I find the crave-ability aspect of these off the charts. I find myself thinking about these profiles far more than most bourbons I have on my shelf today. 

But now some real talk. I started this adventure because on the surface, Armagnac looked like a market with great values and easier access than the shitstorm that is allocated bourbon these days. Well, so much for that. The three amazing barrels I reviewed here today were all part of some private group picks with only a few bottles making their way to retail at K&L and even then I believe it was only one of the casks. While they were priced at retail well, the secret is out and there's now a secondary fever for them that is approaching the ridiculousness that is allocated bourbon so don't plan on finding these. I have no idea if there will ever be more of them in the future but expect a crazed rat race if that happens. Granted, there are plenty of options other than private L'Encantada casks out there but the other major hinderance I've found is shipping. K&L is largely one of the best sources for great Armagnac but now they no longer ship outside of California. There are a few stores in New York that have some great selections but the list of states they ship to is pretty small and excludes my state. My local distributors do carry a few selections but most things older than 10 years end up retailing nearly double what K&L charges.

Get into Armagnac they said. It will be easy they said. It's cheap they said. Huh, yeah, cool story bro. 

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.