Armagnac

Millésimes - Vintages

The Vintage, Armagnac specificity

In the world of spirit drinks where most products are made from cereals or various raw materials distilled throughout the year, Armagnac is on the contrary a natural extension of the vine culture, with its cycles, its years ... its vintages. Nevertheless, the art of blending is widely practiced in Armagnac: VSOP, Hors d'Age, 25 years old, offer a palette of tastes, aromas, balance and consistency that accompany and reassure customers. The vintage in Armagnac is something else, at the same time close to the wines but so different.

Let's take a parcel of vines in the heart of Armagnac, Folle Blanche, Ugni-blanc or Baco for example. It is enriched by the climatic conditions of the year, but here it is managed in such a way as to give low alcohol, acid wines that will give fruity, floral eaux-de-vie.

Then comes the time of distillation. The alembic, the number of its trays, its heating, its adjustment, the choice of the degree of distillation, many factors play on the concentration and the quality of the eau-de-vie that comes out of the machine.

The story is far from over. The winegrower and the cellar master put the Armagnac under wood. They choose the cooper, the grain of the wood, the heating. Depending on the quality of the aromas, the structure in the mouth of the vintage, they decide how long the Armagnac will be in new barrels, the airing, and any reductions. Gestures and know-how that accompany Armagnac for 20 years, 40 years ...

The quality of each vintage is therefore only partly related to the climatic conditions of the year. It is for this reason that most vintages are potentially marketable in the Armagnac region. However, these eaux-de-vie require special care, individualized ageing, adapted to each eau-de-vie and finally a selection of the years or pieces that will be vinified. At the end of the day, each producer's vintage has its own personality, its dominant style made of pastry or dried fruit aromas, volatile or softer notes, power or on the contrary lightness. This is the domain of the hand-stitched, very high-end.

Amateurs love Armagnac vintages because they discover original eaux-de-vie that surprise them or echo their taste. Producers, wine merchants and restaurateurs by their selection work, their knowledge of the products and their passion guide these customers in their search for typicity.

Anniversary vintages

Original, personal, gift but more and more ...rare

Vintage Armagnac is often associated with life's anniversaries. It is a market of vintages, different from that of connoisseurs who come to seek the pleasure of discovering a rare product. An anniversary of birth, of marriage is celebrated 20 years, 50 years later, with the vintage of the year. A way with vintage Armagnac to go back in time, to evoke the road travelled, to measure the maturity acquired.