Armagnac is the oldest wine eau-de-vie, produced in the South West of France at the heart of Gascony. It is the produce of white wine distillation in a special alambic (alambic Armagnacais) and of many years ageing in oak barrels. Armagnac can be found as blends, or as vintages. Ever since 1936, the areas of production of Armagnac as well as the way it is produced have been regulated by the AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée). Primarily, Armagnac is the result of craftmanship engineered by small-scale wineries conveying old traditions and know how. The diversity of areas and grapes, provide this eau-de-vie with a rich personnality, close to the nature and the people who make it. There are many areas in Armagnac. Bas-Armagnac (Lower-land Armagnac), Armagnac-Ténarèze and Haut-Armagnac (Upper-land Armagnac) that altogether represent 15,000 hectares of vineyards spreading over three "départements" (or counties) : "Gers, Landes and Lot-et-Garonne". In this region, climate is mild and temperate. The humidity carried from the Atlantic, but contained by the Landes forest, is mostly felt in the western part of the "terroir", while a dry and sometimes windy mediterranean climate affects the eastern part.

The three distinct regions depicted in the above map present different soil characteristics affecting the grapes and therefore the really nature of the Armagnac being produced:

A 600 years old tradition

It was established that production and consumption of Armagnac could date back as early as the XIVth century. The Romans had indeed brought the culture of wine much earlier on the edge of the Empire; in fact all the way to the south west of France for the latin name Biturica, as what is today known as the Cabernet grape. The Arabs later brought the alambic (as suprising as it may seem...) and the Celts developed the use of barrels. The name "ARMAGNAC" might be traced back to Herreman, knighted by Clovis in the Vth century, who is said to have received a land in Gascony from the King. Under the combined influence of Latin and the local dialect, the name "Herreman" would have evolved into Armagnac.

Later, in 1310, Messire Vital Dufour, clergyman of Eauze consigned in writing the 40 virtues of this eau-de-vie in a medical research transcript, later found at the Vatican. Between the XVth and XVIIth century, traces of the trade in Armagnac were becoming more common, pointing to archives of the markets of St Sever, Mont-de-Marsan or Aire-sur-Adour. In fact, the development of the Armagnac trade owes to the Dutch. While the English regulated or rather forbade the transit of any other wine than Bordeaux wine over the river Garonne, the Dutch got around the problem with the distillation of Gascony wine so as to produce an eau-de-vie that would not be subjected to the English embargo. As the production of Armagnac started to gain momentum, it became necessary to store the Armagnac in oak barrels in order to counter the impact of good and bad years and, at the same time, bring more homogeneity to the quality of the eau-de-vie.

It was therefore totally by chance that the colour, richness and aromatic complexity of Armagnac was finally discovered in relation to its maturation in oak barrels. It is only on May 25, 1909 that a decree organizes and delimitates production areas and on August 6, 1936 that the Armagnac AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) is officially registered. Ever since, traders, producers and distilleries have not stopped devoting their passion to this Armagnac, without a single doubt, one of the icons of Gascony.

Armagnac's 40 virtues

As Messire Vital Dufour found out at Eauze in 1310, Armagnac was initially consumed as a medicinal remedy to various ailments, memory loss among others. Had Messire Vital Dufour known, at that time, about the virtues of Mahjong to fortify memory, the whole of Gascony would have probably, by now, adopted the famous Chinese game as a natural past time to go along with Armagnac.

Today, the concept of "French Paradox" created an opportunity for many research teams to find out the precise role of alcohol in conjunction with tannins from fruits and wood, among the benefits derived from the moderate consumption of wine or alcoholic beverages made of grapes. Research shows that Armagnac, indeed, has medicinal properties. Its properties appear related to the wood tannins simmering into the eau-de-vie as the ageing in oak barrel takes place over the years. Armagnac may have a shielding role against excessive aggregation of blood platelets, a leading cause of heart disease.

Armagnac: the grape and the wine

Among the ten different grapes allowed in the production of Armagnac, four distinctively impart their characteristics to the personality of the eau-de-vie:

Armagnac is vinified naturally. Grapes, harvested in october, are pressed and the juice is put to fermentate without the addition of other products controlling the fermentation. The wine keeps all its freshness and aroma until distillation.

The distillation of Armagnac

The distillation of Armagnac is a continuous process, not a two steps process as for Cognac and takes place during winter, earliest in January, latest by end march of the year following the harvest; the distillation usually takes place on site or is sometimes entrusted to a "bouilleur de cru" going from place to place to do the distillation.

Most of the Armagnac (approximately 95%) is obtained with a special alambic known as "alambic armagnacais" comprising a boiler with 2 or 3 compartments mounted of a column with decks. The alambic is entirely made of copper and contributes directly to the personality of the Armagnac. Some Armagnac producers use the traditional double distillation alambic, commonly found in Cognac, rather than the alambic Armagnacais.

The ageing of Armagnac

As soon as it is distillated, the Armagnac is stored for ageing in 400 litres oak barrels made from trees of Gascony and Limousin. Those barrels are then kept in cellars where temperature and humidity are monitored to ensure the optimum ageing process. The cellar master would particularly monitor:

When the cellar master considers the ageing process has reached an appropriate stage, he starts blending, the harmonious combination of eau-de-vie of different origins and age.

In Armagnac, the vintage is exclusively referring to the year of harvest, and the natural ageing alcoholic content may be between 40% to 48% vol. Once bottled, Armagnac does not age any longer. The bottle must be kept upright to ensure the alcohol does not come in contact with the cork.

Tasting Armagnac

Tasting Armagnac is first and foremost a matter of pleasure and curiosity. Take a balloon glass that you may hold at the hollow of your hand; or a tulip glass which might even better catch the aroma. Pour 2 to 3cl of Armagnac, which is enough to twirl it gently around the inner side of the glass.

Looking at the Armagnac is already the first step to tasting it. It is bright, golden, amber or mahogany, a colour spectrum that reveals its age from young to extra old. With the nose comes the element of curiosity. Notice the first impression but do not stop there...as a few seconds later the aromas will convey subtle notes to your senses depending on the age and the quality of the Armagnac:

Now from a sip to a small gulp, concentrate on your taste buds. From supple to warm, the Armagnac takes control of the palate at the edges of the tongue. The aromatic diversity previously encountered through the nose, is now overtaken by the wooden aromas and the rancio. The Armagnac experience does not end with an empty glass. Keep the glass within the warmth of your hands...the soul of Armagnac is still there.

Reading the label

As for most brandies, the labels found on Armagnac bottles reflect various commercial denominations in direct relation to the time the Armagnac has been kept ageing in its barrel.

Such mentions, except vintage years, always refer to the age of the youngest eau-de-vie added to the blend. The mention "Hors d'Age" is a blend of eaux-de-vie, the youngest of which has been ageing more than 10 years. Armagnac can also be found as mention of age such as: 15 years, 20 years, 30 years, etc...

One can find on the market young Armagnacs such as "Three Stars" or *** (more than 2 years old), the V.S.O.P. (more than 5 years old) and the X.O. (more than 6 years old).

Vintages are known as Millésime (10 years minimum) and are specific to Armagnac. The Millésime refers to the year of harvest printed on the label(1934, 1965, 1976,...).

In order to clarify the mentions printed on the labels, it has been decided to implement progressively a dual category system: "ARMAGNAC" for blends less than 5 years old, and "VIEIL ARMAGNAC" for blends over 5 years old.

Armagnac in cocktails

Floc de Gascogne, an AOC since 1990, is a fruity liqueur wine. White or rosé depending on the grapes it is made of, it is the result of a combination of fresh grape juice and Armagnac originating from the same estate. It can be enjoyed as an aperitif or during a meal.

Armagnac also makes terrific bases for cocktails. L'eau-de-vie blanche (the white eau-de-vie), just drawn from the alambic, can be consumed as is, very fresh with a drop of lemon, or in the middle of a meal accompanied of an ice plum sorbet (" Trou Gascon "). It is preferable to do the "Trou Gascon" with a young Armagnac ( Three stars "***" or a VSOP).

Armagnac after a meal

After a meal, the Armagnac would go along very well with chocolate, coffee and indeed, cigars.

The beauty of this combination is that the Armagnac and the chocolate can marry so well as to have both enhance each other.

They have a lot in common: both are crafted products, depending on the terroir, the climate and the people who made them. Their diversity is impressive (one would choose a cigar depending on the moment, the meal and the context).

This association emphasizes the wooden aromas of the Armagnac above described (smoky, roasted) to naturally join the aroma of coffee, cocoa, etc.. The bitterness of the coffee counters or " erases " the acidity of the eau-de-vie while re-enforcing an impression of smoothness. An old armagnac with complex aroma might extend the finesse of a Kenyan coffee. A young Armagnac would go well with the power of an Ethiopian coffee.