Grape of the Art LRV 2001 #82 70cl

Wir sind leider schon ausverkauft! Es gibt aber noch Flaschen bei den GotA Händlern!
We are sold out! You can still find bottles at the GotA partner shops!

Grape of the Art LRV 2001 #82 70cl

Dieser Armagnac wurde 2001 von LaRoche-Vacquié (LRV) aus Colombard und Ugni Blanc Trauben in Haut Armagnac, Frankreich hergestellt.

Er reifte für 23 Jahre in Fass 82 in einem trockenen Lagerhaus und wurde 2026 (01/2026) von Grape of the Art in Fassstärke mit 51.8% abgefüllt. Für die Destillation wurde eine Alambic Armagnacais (Column Still) verwendet.




Grape of the Art is back! After a small hiatus to regroup we are back with our first Haut Armagnac from LaRoche-Vacquié . Easily one of my favorite Armagnacs so far, definitely top 3 from all GotA Armagnac releases!

We have been in contact with Morgan since a long time, but only managed to visit the domaine end of 2024. What can I say, it was truly one of the best visits in Armagnac so far... and we had a lot of great ones over the years! 

LaRoche-Vacquié has been producing Armagnac near the town Lectoure since the early 1990s and is one of the very few producers left in Haut Armagnac. When Morgan and I tasted the first Armagnacs from the casks, I was in love! The quality is remarkable, there is exciting variance between the vintages and they go back to the the first years of the domaine! A rarity for Haut Armagnac.

Bruno, the father of Morgan who started the estate in the late 80s, never fully commercialized the Armagnac, so there was a lot of choice in the cellar. Fruity and funky in the 90s, more Bourbon and Rum style in the 2000s. One of the best cellars of our visits in 2024 and also overall. Naturally, these rarities come with a premium pricing.

The 2001 was the clear favorite from that first visit and is the perfect fit for our GotA community! Luckily for us, we had such a great time with Morgan, that we found a way to offer this old Haut Armagnac for a great price. Enjoy!



Tasting Impressions: "The LRV is a proper Armagnac for American Whisky lovers! The nose starts with intense cherry notes, which remind you of old aged Bourbons from past times. It is a great mix of different fruits (mostly cherry, but also mango and prunes), spice from the cask and vanilla. The taste delivers an intense sensation, with well integrated ABV. The fruits and spice play well with each other and let you discover differents notes in each sip. The aftertaste lets the oak and spice shine more and lingers for a long time. Overall it tastes far older than the 23 years of aging suggests."



About the label: "This time we decided to go for another "Wimmelbild" and combine several themes connected to LaRoche-Vacquié:

1. Father Bruno and son Morgan. Handing over the legacy from the first generation of Armagnac producers to the next one!
2. When Bruno bought the domaine in the 80s, it was a large apple and prune (Pruneaux d’Agen) farm. When he decided in 1990 to plant vines, they were one of the largest prune producers of France. Over time, the prunes made space for the vines.
3. The stunning architecture of Domaine de Bacqué (the original name of the estate) and the stunning view on Lectoure on the neighboring hill. A lovely, small medieval town.
4. Morgan's love for art! The whole house is decorated with beautiful art pieces, which feels almost like a scavenger hunt to discover all the hidden gems. Even the bathroom feels like a tiny gallery!

Let's see if you find everything - Have fun!"

About LRV - Interview with Morgan:
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗰?
Haut Armagnac has been a passion for my father since 1986 and I decided to relaunch my brand LaRoche-Vacquié in 2022. During Covid, I was having Haut Armagnac tastings in my courtyard in Santa Monica and everyone was asking me where they could buy it because I was always number 1 at blind tastings. I decided to design labels and create a website so I could make it available to the world.  

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗰?
Every cask is different, that’s how we’re unique. We only offer vintages at cask strength, unfiltered and unaltered. 

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗰? 
My father reintroduced Haut Armagnac in the late 1980s and we’re the only ones today offering vintages from the 1990s. 
Our soil is the best to make quality wines: limestone with a thin layer of clay. With a good wine, you can make an amazing Armagnac. 
We distill between 54 and 58% vol. 
We only use sessile oak, what we call the “magic casks” as the majority comes from the Tronçais Forest.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱 (𝗵𝗮)?
24 ha

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗰?
Mostly Ugni Blanc with some Colombard (below 5% depending on Vintages). 

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀)?
It depends on the year, it could 1 or 20!

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 (𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅, 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀)?
We have 2 different cellars, a humid and a dry one. We have all the vintages since the early 1990s.

𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 (𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗺)?
Our vintages from the 1990s and 2000 have mostly been distilled with Philippe Gironi. The 2001 was distilled by Jean-Pierre Gimet though.