What is armagnac?

Armagnac comes from Gascony in the southwest of France and has been recognised there as a designation of origin since 1936.

The area lies between the Landes and the Gers, inland from Bordeaux. The name armagnac may only appear on the bottle when the grapes, wine and distillation come from that delimited area. The Ministere de la Culture included the production method in the inventory of intangible heritage.

The appellation has three regions: Bas Armagnac in the west, Haut Armagnac in the east and Armagnac Tenareze in between.

Each region may appear as a supplementary designation on the label, when the whole bottle comes from there. If it says only Armagnac, the eau-de-vie may come from the entire area. The three names are in the cahier des charges managed by the INAO.

Armagnac is distilled continuously in an alambic armagnacais, a column still, to at most 72.4 percent alcohol.

The cahier des charges stipulates that distillation must be finished by 31 March of the year after the harvest at the latest. The eau-de-vie comes out of the still colourless. Because distilling is done in a single pass and drawn off at a lower strength, more of the wine remains in the distillate than would be the case with a second pass.

Armagnac matures for at least a year on oak, counted from 1 April of the year after the harvest.

The casks in the Armagnac often hold 420 litres. For part of the time the eau-de-vie lies in new wood, then in older wood that gives off less colour and tannin. Higher minimums apply to the commercial designations: XO and Hors d’Age require at least ten years, and a vintage according to the trade organisation likewise ten years.

Ten white grape varieties are permitted for armagnac, including ugni blanc, baco blanc, folle blanche and colombard.

The full list in the cahier des charges also names blanc dame, graisse, jurançon, mauzac, mauzac rose and meslier saint-françois. Baco blanc is a cross that is permitted in Armagnac and not in many other French appellations. The choice of variety is therefore part of the regulations, not of taste alone.

Armagnac is distilled in a single pass and cognac twice, in an alambic charentais.

Both are French grape brandies and both must have at least 40 percent alcohol when sold. The area differs: armagnac comes from Gascony, cognac from the Charente. The classification also differs. Cognac has six crus and, since 2018, the XXO grade from fourteen years; armagnac has three regions and also works a lot with vintages.