A true spirits nerd bottle, Cobrafire is distilled in the Armagnac region of France from the Folle Blanche and Baco grape varietals and bottled at full strength. We felt this distillate expressed itself more like a “grape eau-de-vie” than an “unaged Armagnac” (which it technically is), hence we shunned the “Blanche d’Armagnac” appellation and had it bottled as an “eau-de-vie de raisin”. The 51.3% abv are perfectly integrated, the hallmark of a very skilled distiller.
| COUNTRY | France |
| REGION | Gascogne |
| APPELLATION(S) | Armagnac |
| PROPRIETORS | PM Spirits |
| FOUNDED | 2017 |
| WINEMAKER | Patrick Michalouski, Distiller |
| ANNUAL PRODUCTION | 1200 Bottles |
| FARMING (SUSTAINABLE, ORGANIC, BIODYNAMIC) |
Sustainable |
Domaine d’Espérance
Teaming up with Claire de Montesquiou, the owner of fabulous Domaine d’Espérance located in the Sables Fauves - a sandy part of the Bas Armagnac sub-appellation of the Armagnac region – I embarked on a project to get unaged Armagnac the recognition it deserves. Distilled to proof, e-g no water added, from a blend of 50% Baco and 50% Folle Blanche grape varieties harvested in 2017, rested in a stainless steel tank for 3 months before bottling, the juice in this bottle is highly drinkable.
The Process
No additives, no coloring, no sweetener. Pure, unadulterated, unaged distillate. What’s in the bottle is the true essence of unaged French brandy. Essentially, you’re looking at Blanche d’Armagnac, bottled at full proof. By now you’ll have understood that we like full-proof, unaged Armagnac. A lot.
This is the stuff one drinks fresh of the still during the distillation campaign (winter). Usually distilled in a small column to anywhere between 50% and 60% alc, the well-made stuff is powerful yet displays this elegance so specific to brandy. Highly aromatic, it tends to offer a weight on the palate, a sort of sweetness, that is extremely pleasing.
