Neisson Collection Armada 1992

Neisson, the small Martinique family distillery beloved of agricole drinkers, bottles this Collection Armada from a 1992 vintage made from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice. As an old AOC Martinique agricole from a house with a serious reputation, it sits at the collectible end of the cane-juice world, the grassy spirit deepened by long maturation.

The nose is fragrant and savoury with thyme, pepper, florals and a thread of chocolate, while the palate turns layered with citrus, vanilla and anise. The finish is velvety and spiced with a citrus lift. Bottled unsweetened at 46.8 percent, it keeps the dry, herbaceous backbone of fine agricole while age has lent it depth and a silky texture. This is a slow-sipping, contemplative bottling, the kind of mature Neisson that shows what the house does at its most refined, best appreciated neat with time in the glass.