Château Laballe Coffret Mini 3x100 (Ice, Rich & Gold)

A set of three 100ml bottles from Laballe, showcasing its three-year-old, 12-year-old and 21-year-old Armagnacs. This set comes presented in an eco-friendly poplar wood box, made in France, that is emblazoned with Laballe’s mantra—Armagnac is back.

The three-year-old 'Ice' is the youngest of Laballe’s 3-12-21 collection. This Armagnac is aged in oak barrels (a quarter of which are new) from the Landes Forest for a minimum of three years. Distilled from Ugni Blanc, it’s a delicious, fine-boned young Bas Armagnac with lovely freshness, yet also good body and texture. It works beautifully as an aperitif Armagnac and on the rocks as well as in cocktails. You could try it in a D’Artagnan (basically a brandy-laced Bucks Fizz), a Sidecar or a southwest speciality, the Landaise Mule (50ml of Armagnac, 10ml lime juice, over ice, topped with ginger beer).

The Rich is aged for a minimum of 12 years in oak barrels from the nearby Landes Forest. Crafted from 80% Ugni Blanc and 20% Baco, and distilled in Laballe’s wood-fired copper pot, it is a layered, wonderfully balanced and generous Armagnac with deep, earthy nuances of salted caramel, cumin and saffron balanced with fresh, zesty notes of grapefruit and orange peel. The extra layers and texture bode well for after-dinner sipping. Alternatively, this can add complex, spicy oomph to a Sazerac.

With a minimum of 21 years age, Laballe's Gold is a deeply flavoured, expansive Armagnac with all the aromatic complexity and depth that you would expect of great, old Bas Armagnac. Over half the blend is drawn from stocks over 30 years old, lending an exceptional depth of flavour and spicy depth. It is at once both powerful and elegant—a hallmark of Laballe’s vintage bottlings—offering layers of wood spice, dried fruits, tobacco, cocoa and a hint of peat smoke, backed by a luxurious, fleshy mouthfeel and serious depth. Best served as a digestif or for sipping after dinner.