Armagnac Region

In the SW corner of France lies the land of Armagnac in the “Department” of Gers within the Provence of Gascony. This region lies SE of the city of Bordeaux.

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.

Gascony is the land of d'Artagnan, who inspired Alexandre Dumas's character d'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, as well as the land of Cyrano de Bergerac, who inspired the play of the same name by Edmond Rostand. It is also home to Henry III of Navarre, who later became king of France as Henry IV.

The region has its own microclimate with the Pyranees mountains on one side and pine forests on the other to block winds. In this region are three counties, one of which is Bas Armagnac in the western portion of the region. It is a noted producer of Armagnac, The other two are: Tenareze in the middle and Haut-Armagnac on the eastern portion.

Armagnac is a French grape brandy most similar to cognac, but ultimately very different in production and flavour profile. In Gers the region produces a number of wonderful delicacies, including Foie Gras.

Armagnac History

The Vines were introduced by the Romans circa 50 BC, making it the oldest produced brandy. The oldest document of Armagnac production is from 1310, making Armagnac over 700 years old and 150 years older than cognac.

In 1879, phylloxera hit the region and destroyed half the vineyards. Bas Armagnac was not harmed since its sandy soils stopped phylloxera mites which did not thrive in it. Armagnac did virtually no exportations with a consumption about 20 times lower than cognac.

In the Bas Armagnac region there are Domains and Chateaus that still make Armagnac and distil on their premises. Some Armagnac producers blend different vintages, others produce single barrel, single grape with a specific vintage, and bottling details of its provenance e.g. a bottle which states, 1976, may have on the side of the label in small print, a much later bottling date.

Some may blend different grapes from same vintage from the barrel. Many do not bottle the whole barrel, or baroque. One mentioned it only takes the Bas Armagnac (BA) out of the barrel for small lots of bottling. A barrel/baroque will hold between 400-420 litres.

This is probably the major reason for the lack of exposure of Armagnac in general. So many small producers, keeping the tradition of their respective parents/grandparents, alive and continue to resist sacrificing the boutique quality of their product.

These are dedicated, passionate people who ply their trade with deep devotion and an enormous respect for the tradition of their product.

Lack of sea port access limited international exposure

Cognac was created by winemakers eager to export their low alcohol white wine to England and Holland. The French brandy industry grew slowly at first, until the Dutch got involved. The Netherlands imported brandy for domestic consumption as well as for re-export to other European countries. At this point, the Dutch mercantile fleet was the largest in the world, and sailors would add brandy to keep their water supplies fresh on long ocean voyages.

The Dutch had the idea of distilling the best for export. By aging in oak barrels, its success became total in Holland who named the spirit "brandewijn" hence the word "brandy". The success of Cognac arose because it was an export market (90%) and enhanced due to its close proximity to the Port of La Rochelle. Also, the commercial treaty between France and England in 1860 under Napoleon III allowed for Cognac sales an exponential growth.

Because Armagnac region did not have access to a close sea port, it thus restricted market access for Armagnac. However, increasingly sophisticated connoisseurs recognised the superiority of Armagnac and it has, and continues to gain increased market penetration.