Expert: Paul Wagner - 1/31/2002

Question
I inherited a bottle of Armagnac and am having a hard time dating it. I can find no record of the distiller as well. The label says "Manior de Saint-Vivant, 30 years old" The bottle is crooked, leaning to the right. It is sealed with a cork and wax and has a wax seal near the bottom of the bottle that says "Saint-Vivant Armagnac" The bottom of the bottle says "Paris France" and "Saint-Vivant"
On the neck of the bottle it has a French saying that starts out "in the year 1359" then it is hard to read.  Thanks for your time!

Answer
Dear Mark:

St. Vivant is a fairly easy to find Armagnac these days--it sells for maybe $35 a bottle.  The odd bottle shape is a tradition with them, as is the wax capsule.

Armagnac, like other hard liquors, does not improve with bottle age.  So 30 years in the cask makes this a nice bottle, but another 20 or more in the bottle doesn't make it any better.  Oh well. It is lovely stuff, and I would savor it, slowly, over the course of the next year.  

Serve it is large snifters, and allow yourself to enjoy the rich aromas of vanilla, caramel, and spice.  Then sip it slowly, and smile!

Paul Wagner