Armagnac: Ageing and Blending

An old Gascon proverb says that Armagnac must be matured in barrels made of oak that has “seen the grapes growing” – in other words, wood
that has seen the seasons pass. This is why you can see stacks of stave wood stored in the open air all over Gascony.

The maturation process, which is also called lessivage, serves to remove potential toxins from the wood that would otherwise give the Armagnac a note of bitterness. The best results are achieved with wood that has been subjected to the elements for at least 24 months. The local oak (Quercus pedunculata) has wide grains, especially when it receives a medium to heavy toast that imparts a dark colour to the spirit.

AGEING THE EAU-DE-VIE

Armagnac comes off the still at around 60% ABV. It is casked at the same strength and typically bottled at between 40% and 48% ABV. In our opinion, Armagnac shouldn’t be too oaky and needs to have somehow “digested” its ageing in wood. It’s about the right balance, or more precisely about the harmony amongst a variety of flavours.

You could describe it as creating a melody from the notes played by different instruments. Ageing in new barrels determines the rhythm and imparts colour and tannins to the distillate. The fragile aromas and intermediate tones develop only afterwards when interacting with oxygen during maturation in older barrels.

The venue, the chai (“cellar”), also plays a decisive role and contributes significantly to the maturation of our Armagnac – let’s call it sensory acoustics. Because the fact is – and you can ask the angels – the more humid a cellar is, the rounder the brandy will be and the more alcohol will be lost; the alcohol molecules are the first to evaporate, after all.

On the other side of the coin, the drier a cellar is, the richer the brandy and the more water is lost because the water molecules are the first to evaporate when exposed to aridity.

ASSEMBLAGE

Traditionally, Armagnac is a composition (or assemblage) of different eaux-de-vie from different vintages, grape varieties, and locations. However, the assemblage is not a duty, but rather an art form; an interplay of man and nature with the ultimate goal of sensory harmony.