Folle Blanche 15 Ans d'Âge

About this wine

This Bas-Armagnac is made entirely from the Folle Blanche grape grown in the Bas Armagnac area and aged for a minimum of 15 years. It is bottled at cask strength, 47.2 percent alcohol, which preserves intensity and aromatic detail. The color shows bright mahogany highlights that reflect extended oak ageing. On the nose you will find candied orange, honey, rancio and a peppery note often described as Madagascar pepper. The palate is generous and mouth coating with sweet dried fruit, pineapple and apple, supported by warm spice and a smooth oak presence. The finish is long and shows the brightness of rancio with lingering notes of dried fruit and spice. Domaine Tariquet’s Pure Folle Blanche 15 years was awarded Supreme Champion Spirit at the International Spirits Challenge in 2022, a recognition that underlines its quality and distinct character.

About the grape

Folle Blanche is an ancient Armagnac grape that was once the region's dominant variety but was largely replaced after the phylloxera crisis because it is sensitive to disease and pests. The Grassa family at Domaine Tariquet reintroduced and expanded Folle Blanche plantings from the 1980s onward, tending vines on clay limestone and tawny sand soils with sustainable vineyard practices. For this bottling the eau de vie is distilled from 100 percent Folle Blanche fruit and aged a minimum of 15 years in French oak casks to develop the rancio characters for which Bas Armagnac is known. Because Folle Blanche is rare and fragile it is often planted and managed with careful canopy work and site selection to preserve its finesse and aromatic profile in long aged expressions.

Quick facts

• 🌱 This Bas Armagnac is made from 100 percent Folle Blanche, a grape variety that today covers only about five percent of the Armagnac plantings.
• 🔄 The Grassa family at Domaine Tariquet reintroduced Folle Blanche in the 1980s, bringing back a variety nearly lost after the phylloxera crisis.
• ⚗️ The 15 year bottling is sent out brut de fût at its natural strength, bottled at about 47.2 percent alcohol with no reduction.
• 🕰️ After 15 years of ageing the spirit reaches a notable second maturity called rancio, which gives it toasted, dried fruit and exotic spice notes.
• 🏆 Tariquet Pure Folle Blanche 15 ans won Supreme Champion Spirit and Best Spirit of the Year at the International Spirits Challenge in 2022, beating many other spirit categories.

Palate profile

Producer

Domaine Tariquet is a family owned estate in Gascony that has produced Armagnac at the property since at least 1683 and has been in the Grassa family since 1912. For most of its history the estate concentrated on Armagnac, but in the early 1980s Yves and Maïté Grassa pioneered a large scale production of fresh white wines for Côtes de Gascogne, making the Classic cuvée an emblem of the domaine. Over five generations the family built the business into one of the largest single estate holdings in the region, managing more than a thousand hectares of vines and notable plantings of Gros Manseng and Ugni blanc. Today the estate remains estate bottled and family run, combining traditional Armagnac know how with modern viticulture and a strong emphasis on environmental stewardship and quality production.