Armagnac is a highly aromatic big, irresistible and fruity brandy from a small part in the Gascony (in French Gascogne) region of South West France. It joins other brandies on our site, including the premium Cognac and Calvados. Armagnac was the first brandy to be distilled in France.
Armagnac is a highly aromatic big, irresistible and fruity brandy from  region of South West France.
Armagnac itself was historic region of southwestern France but it is now contained in the département of Gers. It is a region of hills reaching a height of 300 meters and is drained by the Gers and other rivers, which descend fan-wise from the Lannemezan Plateau. On the slopes of its hills grow the grapes from which the well-known Armagnac brandy is made.

Gascony was historically inhabited by Basque-related people who appear to have spoken a language similar to Basque. The name Gascony comes from the same root as the word Basque. From the Middle Ages until today, the Gascon language has been spoken, although it is classified as a regional variant of the Occitan language.

Armagnac is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally using column stills. This is in contrast to the pot stills used in the production of cognac, which is made predominantly from ugni blanc grapes. The resulting spirit is aged in oak barrels before release. Unlike Cognac, whose production is dominated by big-name brands, Armagnac is, for the most part, made and sold by small producers, many of which are family owned. Armagnac is traditionally distilled once, resulting in alcohol content between 52% and 60%. The result is a more fragrant and flavourful spirit than cognac, which is produced by double distillation. Long ageing in oak barrels softens the taste and causes the development of more complex flavours and a brown colour.

Armagnac is sold under several classifications, mostly referring to the age of the constituent brandies. Armagnac is allowed to be sold under vintages. When Armagnacs of different ages have been blended, the age on the bottle refers to the youngest component. A three-star, or VS, Armagnac is a mix of several Armagnacs that have seen at least one year of ageing in wood. For VSOP the ageing is at least four years, and for XO and Hors d’âge ten years. Older and better Armagnacs are often sold as vintages, with the bottles containing Armagnac from a single year, the year being noted on the bottle, aged for a minimum of 10 years. Vintages’ flavour and appearance change depending on factors including the grape, ageing time, barrel used for ageing, grape variety, weather that year, storage location and more

Curiosity : Gascony is the land of the real-life d’Artagnan, who inspired Alexandre Dumas’s character d’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers.