Château De Laubade L’Unique Armagnac Review

L’Unique
The Traveling Barrels
Château De Laubade
BAS Armagnac
Single Vineyard, Cask Strength
48.4% ABV
50% Baco – 50% Ugni Blanc

Please enjoy my Château De Laubade L’Unique Armagnac Review.

The L’Unique Armagnac Backstory

Don’t worry! I haven’t become Armagnac Obsessed, but I actually am obsessed about this particular one. It’s part of a bourbon and armagnac love story, so to speak. Sort of like Romeo and Juliet but with a happier (and tastier) ending. If you’ll remember back in the early summer of 2020, the Bardstown Bourbon Company released their Château De Laubade Bourbon, which was finished in Château De Laubade Armagnac barrels. So the cool thing is that these barrels, after first aging armagnac and then finishing BBC bourbon then went back to Château De Laubade to finish an armagnac. The circle of life. Isn’t that cool?! I have really wanted to get a hold of a bottle of this armagnac from the time I first time that I had heard of it, but it seemed like none of the 698 bottles made it to Kentucky. Fortunately my wonderful wife tracked one down in California and my wonderful brother-in-law muled it back for me.

What is L’Unique?

According to the label: “‘L’Unique” is a blend of two 8-year-old single casks of Baco and Ugni Blanc, finished in one ex-Bourbon barrel for 8 months. In 2018, this barrel was shipped from Laubade to Bardstown Bourbon Company in Kentucky where it was used for maturing Bourbon. In 2020, the barrel was then shipped back home to conclude its transatlantic journey and give an incomparable finish to the Armagnac. “‘L’Unique – The Traveling Barrels” is an exclusive 698-bottle release for the US.

The L’Unique Armagnac Grapes

So, I am no armagnac expert, and in fact I had to do quite a bit of research to even understand the bottle. Apparently the two different grapes used in this armagnac – the Baco and Ugni Blanc – have an interesting history. The Baco was originally developed to be resistant to grape diseases and pests like phylloxera, and up until the 1970’s was the primary grape of Armagnac. Since then it has been largely replaced by Ugni Blanc (also known as Trebbiano) which is now the dominant grape in the region, although Baco is still used.

Tasting Notes

This armagnac is very enjoyable, and quite different from bourbon. Its fairly fruit-forward, dominated by apple, with some grape, raisin, oak, tanginess and a pastry-like character, with a fairly long finish.

In Conclusion

Can I pick out the bourbon flavors in the armagnac? I can’t say that I can, but I can certainly pick out the armagnac flavors in the bourbon. I guess I am missing one more bottle for comparison – the unfinished Château De Laubade Armagnac. Then I would probably notice the effect that the finishing had. Stay tuned!

I hope you enjoyed my Château De Laubade L’Unique Armagnac Review. Maybe you want to read about the bourbon discussed in this post? If so, check out my Bardstown Bourbon Company Château de Laubade Bourbon review! Cheers!🥃

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