Cles des Ducs XO Armagnac, 70 cl

Product Information

Below are tasting notes on a selection of Armagnacs that are a good cross section of what the region has to offer. Finally, there's Armagnac Ténarèze making up the rest of production, around 40%, with its rich clay and chalk soils leading to a more robust spirit. But distillation takes place in the unique alambic Armagnacais, a type of column still that is even more "inefficient" than a typical Cognac pot still. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally using column stills rather than the pot stills used in the production of cognac, which is made predominantly from ugni blanc grapes.

Armagnac | Master of Malt Armagnac | Master of Malt

Only 48 houses in Armagnac own their own copper still, so to support the rest of the houses, there are five travelling distillers who pull their alambic by tractor around the villages. O. 25-Year-Old Bas Armagnac is made predominantly with Folle Blanche grapes and blended with other Armagnac from the surrounding regions. Pellehaut is a Tenareze producer owned by the Beraut family—they trace their roots in the region back four centuries. Maison Castarèdeis the oldest Armagnac trading house in the world and was founded during Napoleon’s reign. Our primary audience is from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Europe, although we have readers from as far away as Mauritius!The silkiness of Laubade’s older marcs is absent here, however, and for what it’s worth, the only impression of bourbon provided is a gritty punchiness on the back end that evokes a touch of woody barrel char — though the high-proof bottling could be doing some of that talking. Castarède produces a broad range of Armagnac’s, including ultra-aged expressions more than a half century old, as well as vintage expressions dating back to 1893.

Domaine Tariquet: A taste of Armagnac history Domaine Tariquet: A taste of Armagnac history

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.We're also full of less relevant but just as useful facts, just like this one: Dolly the Sheep was born in 1996, too. The column is known as an alambic Armagnacais, with a maximum of 17 plates but often as few as four. Though we’re also fans of the 12-year-old for fresh notes of sultana, grass and honey, we’ve chosen the 20-year-old for the sheer smoothness and wonderful richness.