Domaine Tariquet<br />XO<br />Grape variety(ies) :<br />Ugni-blanc 60% Baco 40%<br />Characters :<br />The youngest of the eaux-de-vie making up this blend of typical Bas-Armagnac grape varieties has been matured in oak barrels in our cellars during<br />a minimum of 15 years old<br />Tasting commentary :<br />International reference... XO<br />Intense, candied nose, with aromas of warm bread with hints of candied fruit and toast. The palate is fresh and round, supple, witnessing a subtle marriage between the<br />vanilla of the wood and the fruit. The finish is full-bodied, it retains full scents of dried fruit and toast...<br /><br />The cigar alliance<br />by Yves Belaubre<br /><br />XO - Davidoff Milenium Blend Churchill<br />With its scents of precious wood (floral) delicately vanilla-scented, its candied and grilled nuances, its tart hint of orange peel (hint of pepper), the fragrant nose of the XO<br />expresses in elegance and measure the Tariquet taste. The skilful balance of flower, fruit, wood and spices (the cardinal points of the expression Tariquet) is all the more<br />noticeable as the power of XO is made up of restrained vigour, its mouth is supple and mellow. And the resulting pleasure for the taste buds is increased by the spirit of the<br />pleasure of contemplating this refined harmony. The cigar lover will not be jealous of so much gustatory completeness, nor of this calm blossoming of the Tariquet XO, but<br />he may give in to the temptation to challenge so much contemplative beauty and pretend to measure his response against the wilder fire of a full-bodied smoke. That's what I<br />did when I lit a Churchill Millennium Blend from Davidoff.<br /><br />The beauty of the alliance of the most exactly spiced of the great Dominican cigars and the XO is imposed through the enhanced and valorising complementarity of the<br />spices of the Millenium (grey pepper) on the mellow of the brandy; of the very roasted coffee nuances of the cigar with the candied-vanilla nuances of the Tariquet; the<br />mellow (almost buttery) of the Bas Armagnac and the drier note of the smoke...<br /><br />The refinement of the XO holds the accord and even deepens it during the cigar's evolution towards more roundness and mellowness as the tasting progresses.<br /><br />The honeyed and floral attack of the old brandy is contrasted by the peppery (grey) and toasted nuances of the cigar, which coat the palate. As the Tariquet rises, more<br />woody and vanilla, its mellow texture meets the roasted-coffee expression of the Davidoff smoke, rounding it off and then leading it towards cocoa sensations (roasted<br />beans) which one no longer knows if they are from the cigar or the XO. As a result, it is a game of correspondences that emerge on the long palate between impressions of<br />oak (moss), bark and roasted almond coming from the tobacco and the zest candied in the vanilla wood of the brandy, whose tender finish reminds me of mead. We thought<br />we were heckling the XO but it is its measured harmony that seduces the cigar, tames it, and initiates it into this marriage.<br />
Price
€82.00
