Armagnac, Brandy

To promote the winemaking of the Gers and Armagnac is to defend the identity of our County and the identity of the Musketeers. In the same way that a Gascon would be lost without his Musketeers, so a Musketeer would be greatly saddened without his brandy, which delights the palate, enlivens the body, gladdens the heart and uplifts the soul.

A Gascon is nothing without his land, but the soul of Gascony is present as much in inanimate objects as in people. The most direct way to reawaken the urge to seek new conquests and to breathe the scents of our oak covered hillsides and the perfumes of our vines is to taste the produce of Gascony and finish off with a glass of the wonderful brandy called Armagnac.

Because, make no mistake, Armagnac is a drink that you should not take without being in a certain state of mind, but that once taken will allow you to enter into that feeling of wellbeing beloved of d’Artagnan, and where, in the gentle stillness of the Gascony countryside, the impossible becomes possible.

This is the history of the brandy known as ARMAGNAC, the nectar from our Gascony which the Company of Musketeers offers to its guests.

The Best Brandy in the World *

Armagnac, it’s a long story…

The Romans introduced the vine. Then the Arabs brought in the still and finally the Celts developed the use of the barrel. It could only have happened in Gascony…

Recognised since the Middle Ages for its therapeutic properties, Armagnac became much more widely known in the 16th century as a consumer product. Its distillation and commercialization reached its height in the 19th century. In 1909 its area of production was defined by l’Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, and the Decree of the 6th of August, 1936, set out the conditions of production. Today, Armagnac is renowned in 130 countries around the world.

The Vineyards

Situated in the heart of Gascony, the Armagnac wine growing area covers some 15,000 hectares of gently sloping, well-exposed hills, taking up a large part of the County of Gers, as well as some sections of the Counties of the Landes and the Lot-et-Garonne.

To the West, Lower Armagnac is situated on a fawn coloured sandy alluvial soil that produces a delicate and fruity brandy.

In the Centre, Armagnac Ténarèze has a chalky clay soil that produces more full-blooded and lively brandies whose richness is brought out through prolonged ageing.

The grape varieties

The winemaking

The grapes are harvested in the recognised vintage areas in the month of October.

Harvesting. The Museum of Cluny

The wines are made in the most traditional manner possible, without recourse to sulphites, sugar or other additives. They are notable for a relatively low degree of alcohol (from 8 to 10% by volume), good acidity and fullness.

The distillation

This takes place every year from November to March. Traditionally, the wines are distilled by the continuous method using Armagnac Stills. The design of this still was registered in 1818 under a royal warrant issued by order of King Louis XVIII.

The wine is continuously fed through the still from the supply vat. It passes from the cooling column and then, by a route inverse to that of the alcohol, rises to be heated in a column known as the « wine heater ». It then passes through a coil which condenses the alcohol vapours. As it is heated, the wine rises and runs into the boiler where it is in its turn transformed into alcohol vapour which rises to flow over a number of plates in the boiler. The vapour bubbles through the wine, which then descends through the layers of boiler plates, gaining in the process a higher alcohol content and absorbing aromatic substances.
The colourless but strong and perfumed brandy assays at 52 to 72 % by volume when it leaves the still.

Distillation by this simple heating process (contrary to Cognac) has the advantage of preserving all the aromas of Armagnac, although it has the inconvenience of requiring a longer ageing process (something that lovers of Armagnac don’t mind) in order to bring out its elegant and complex bouquet.

est un vieillissement nécessairement plus long et qui révèle un bouquet d'arômes élégant et complexe.

The ageing process

Once distillation has been completed, Armagnac undergoes a long ageing process in the wine cellars.
In 410 litre capacity casks made from oak from the forests of Gascony and Limousin, the brandy is slowly enriched by the scents of the casks (vanilla, candied fruits, prunes….) while taking on a glorious golden colour. The strength of the brandy slowly decreases through the natural evaporation of the alcohol. This is known as :  

« The Angels’ share ».

It is the Cellar Master who has the responsibility of correcting this natural evaporation by adding more brandy (replacing the angels’ share), using only brandy from the same year and the same distillation !

Absolutel adherence to this rule enables formal identification of any Armagnac, its rarity and the specificity of every vintage.

Conservation, and the language of the labels

Armagnac does not alter once it has been bottled. It can be drunk from the moment it is acquired. Just keep the bottle upright so that the alcohol doesn’t attack the cork.

The indications shown on the label of a bottle of Armagnac concerning its  age always refer to the youngest brandy used in its production :

Three Stars indicate that the Armagnac has aged for at least two years in the wood,

V.O., V.S.O.P. or Reserve is for those Armagnacs that have aged for at least five years in the wood,

Extra, Napoléon, X.O., Vieille Réserve, refers to those Armagnacs that have aged for at least 6 years in the wood.

Hors d’Age refers to those Armagnacs that have aged for at least 10 years in the wood.