What is Armagnac?

Armagnac is, without a doubt, one of the oldest spirits in the world.
Some even claim that it is the oldest spirit ever.
One thing is certain: Armagnac is significantly older than its big brother Cognac.

Aygue Ardente (Latin for "burning water") was first mentioned in 1310. It was part of a book by Vital Dufour, which gave advice on how to stay healthy and fit.

In order to be able to distill wine at all, you first needed two important ingredients: wine and stills.

The first traditions of wine growing by the Romans in southern France can be found as early as the first century BC.
Distillation came to France in the 12th century by the Moors, nomads living in North Africa at the time.

How did Armagnac get its name?
There was a knight named Herrman around the 7th century. At that time, special services were attributed to him and so he was given his own kingdom. The name Hermann was translated into Latin at some point and so Arminius came into being.
At some point, however, a new, locally established language was introduced and so Arminius ultimately became Armagnac. This is how the then small county in Gascony got its name sometime in the 10th century.

Let's jump a little further forward to the 15th century.
There is a lot of evidence that the period between 1411 and 1441 led to a major commercialization of Armagnac. Armagnac was sold in markets and was considered an immortality water with complex aromas and different flavors.
There are records of an Armagnac market in Mont-de-Marsan, among others, in the 17th century.
At that time, the Piquepoult grape variety was mainly used, today better known as Folle Blanche.

The Dutch had a great interest in French wines at that time and so they sailed further south-east through Bordeaux along the Charente river in the direction of today's Gers department.
They also found what they were looking for here and really enjoyed these wines. Now these wines also had to be transported on boats on the Charente towards the Atlantic.
At that time, however, it was forbidden to transport wines that did not come from Bordeaux across the Charente for competitive reasons.
For this reason, it was decided to distill the wine on site, as it was not forbidden to transport spirits across the river.

The wines were distilled directly on site in Gascony and then bottled in casks. This made transport easier and thus circumvented the transport ban.

Around 1730, the eau de vie (water of life) became a real bestseller. However, there were good and not so good years, which meant that the wine had to be stored in the barrels for longer. And so, unintentionally, a true treasure was discovered.
Due to the longer storage time in the barrel, the originally light eau de vie developed into a spirit that changed the color and developed more and more different aromas. The Armagnac, as we know it knowadays, was born.

The War of Independence in the USA in the 18th century triggered a real boom. In the 19th century, larger wine cellars began to be built and attempts were made to make the spirit Armagnac better and better known.
A lot was done to ensure that they could consistently offer a high quality product.
In addition to monitoring the maturation process, this also included mixing different Armagnacs together.

As with Cognac, there was a major phylloxera plague in 1870. Of the 100,000 ha of vineyards, only 25,000 ha remained. In addition to the imported Ugni Blanc grape from the USA, other grape varieties such as the Baco grape were also used.

In 1920 it was decided to divide the Armagnac region into three different areas:

• Bas Armagnac
• Tenareze and
• Haut Armagnac

After the Second World War, the demand for Armagnac grew significantly and they began to bottle Armagnac in glass bottles.
While around 35,000 hl were produced in 1980, just 10 years later it were already 60,000 hl.

Gascony stretches in the southwest of France from the Atlantic to the Pyrenees. Due to the Mediterranean climate, the area is ideal for growing wine.

As just briefly mentioned, the Armagnac region is still divided into 3 areas today:
 
The Bas-Armagnac is a rather flat area. The soil here is a barren and loamy sandy soil. The eau de vie from this area tend to have a slightly fruity taste. There are around 3,480 ha of Armagnac vineyards here. It is also the largest of the three growing regions.

The Ténarèze is somewhat hilly and has a slightly chalky soil. The Armagnac from Ténarèze is characterized by a rather powerful and aromatic taste. There are around 1,588 ha of vineyards here.

In the Haut-Armagnac area there is also a rather clayey soil with a chalky subsoil. These Armagnacs are characterized by a slightly more powerful taste. There are around 68 hectares of vineyards here.

By the way, each of these three areas has its own rules or regulations regarding Armagnac production.

The Armagnac is subject to a protected designation of origin.
There is the BNIA (Bureau National Interprofessionel de l'Armagnac), which protects the designation of origin and ensures that the guidelines for the production of Armagnac are adhered to.
These guidelines are subject to the AOC (Protected Designation of Origin) and include, among other things, the following points:

• Growing areas and sub-regions
• Grape varieties
• Management and care of the vineyards (plant density, spacing of vines, pruning, etc.)
• Winemaking and fermentation
• Distillation methods
• Cask maturation
• Use of additives

In the history part we briefly spoke about the different types of grapes.
There are a total of 10 different types of grapes that can be used to make Armagnac. I would like to go into the 4 most important grape varieties in more detail:

Ugni Blanc 

The distillation grape par excellence. Produces a fruity taste.

 
Baco 

The Baco grape is the only hybrid grape that can be used. This means a cross between Folle Blanche and the Noah grape variety. The Baco is a very robust, supple grape and tastes more like ripe fruit. 

Folle Blanche 

Certainly the best-known grape variety. Due to the difficulty in cultivation, it is rarely used today. In terms of taste, this grape produces a floral taste. With notes of apple, peach and a lot of elegance, this grape is particularly suitable for young Armagnacs. 

Colombard 

Here we have a slightly less commonly used grape variety. In terms of aroma, the Colombard grape is exotically fruity (nectarines) and spicy at the same time. 

After the grapes are harvested, the fermentation process takes place.
The alcohol content must not exceed 12% ABV.
Now that you have received a finished wine, the distillation process begins.
It is important to note that the distillation process is completed by March 31 of the year following the harvest.

The wine is mainly distilled by the respective producers themselves. Two different processes can be used for the distillation.
1. Continuous distillation with a so-called Alambic Armagnacais (Column Still)
2. Discontinuous distillation with a pot still.
I don't want to go into the pot still in more detail because only a few producers (3%) use it.

Most producers own the Alambic still, which is predominantly used. But there are also so-called Bouilleurs Ambulants (mobile distillers)who drive their Alambic to various producers and distill it for them directly on site.

The Alambic Still was created in 1818 and has been modified and improved over the years. The still itself gives the Armagnac a special style.
If you would like to find out more about the distillation process, I would refer you to this video.

With Armagnac there is only one distillation process and the resulting spirit has an alcohol content of between 52 - 72% ABV. The eau de vie (water of life) already has a very fruity and floral character.

The special feature of Armagnac is that the spirit produced can be stored in steel tanks for 3 months and then be bottled. However, we are not talking about Armagnac here, but rather about Blanche (white) Armagnac. This means it never comes into contact with a wooden barrel. The Blanche Armagnac can be enjoyed chilled or it is used for mixing cocktails. 

The majority of the distillate will be found in oak casks. Oak wood from the forests of Gascony (65%) or Limousin (35%) is used. The oak trees used are between 100-150 years old. You can make about 2 casks from one oak tree.

The casks have a capacity of 400 liters.
They are stored in cellars, which can be either dry or very humid. This also gives the Armagnac its own taste. Through cask aging, the Armagnac now gets its different aromas, which come about due to the oxidation of the Armagnac in combination with the wood.

The amount of Armagnac in the cask is reduced by approximately 0.5% per year.
The loss of alcohol is 2 – 6% per year, which depends very much on storage. Larger temperature fluctuations promote evaporation.

The maturing process in the barrel must now be closely monitored by the cellar master. If the Armagnac stays in the barrel for too long, this can have a negative effect in that it takes on the wood aromas too intensely and has a taste that is too bitter.

Younger-ripened Armagnacs have a more light, fruity and floral character, whereas Armagnacs with a longer ripening time develop more dried fruit and nut aromas up to a rancio.
The Rancio resembles an earthy, autumnal and mushroomy flavor.

If you want to bottle your fully matured Armagnac, you can bottle it straight away or alternatively store it in glass ballons, so-called “bonbonnes”. The maturation process is then completed, but this means you have the opportunity to bottle the Armagnac decades later. This is also the reason why very old Armagnacs are still available today.
The Armagnac can then be diluted with distilled water to the desired drinking strength.

Unlike other spirits, Armagnac allows various additives:

• sugar for sweetening
• Caramel for coloring
• Boisé (oak shavings are used in Armagnac to intensify the wood aromas)

In total, the additives used may make up a maximum of 4% of the Armagnac.
It is difficult to say how many producers use additives as this is not a mandatory information (e.g. on the label).
If any additives are included, these are stated in many shops, such as armagnac.de.

• In 2020, 2.8 million bottles of Armagnac were sold worldwide

• Approximately 45% of Armagnac produced remains in France, 55% is exported

• Most sales go to Russia, Great Britain, the USA and China

• Germany is in fifth place with a share of 5.6%

• The most expensive Armagnac is the Manoir de Beraut Comte de Goyon 1865 for around 9,000 US dollars.