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fine spirits
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ARMAGNAC DARTIGALONGUE & FILS
Benoit Hillion, Director of
Armagnac Dartigalongue &
Fils, at one of the company’s
traditional alembic stills.
GASCONY’S
New Wave
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHÂTEAU DELORD
WHILE CHERISHING ITS
PAST, ARMAGNAC IS
PLANNING ITS FUTURE
BY KELLY A. MAGYARICS
Blanche is a new category of unaged
Armagnac that’s finding a place in cocktails.
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fine spirits
}
Jean-Jacques, Denis and Arnaud Lesgourgues at Château de Laubade.
“Armagnac will
be drunk because
of the quality
of the product,
not because it
is cheaper than
Cognac.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHÂTEAU DELORD
a sleepy region in Southwest
France, small, family-run producers distill the country’s
oldest, most artisanal spirit.
Armagnac aficionados tout its
texture, primary fruit flavors and oak-influenced
notes of vanilla, caramel and toffee—which contrast
with the subtle floral nuances of nearby cousin
Cognac. Each damp November, alembic stills are
lit, and friends and family are invited to dine next
to their warming flames at celebratory harvest dinners. But spending a few days in the region that
time seems to have forgotten, drinking spirits that
have been produced since at least the 14th century,
belies Armagnac’s exciting future.
The latest crop of producers is young, energetic
and not making their grandfather’s Armagnac. “The
[younger] generation of distillers is quite dynamic,”
notes Denis Lesgourgues, co-owner (along with
his brother Arnaud) and President of Château
de Laubade. “We travel more, we are more openminded, and we want to see Armagnac more powerful among the super-premium market.”
Château de Laubade, a single-estate vineyard
with 260 acres under vine, is making some decidedly modern winemaking choices. The house is the
region’s largest grower of the Baco grape, which
Lesgourgues believes is essential for crafting a
high-quality spirit. (Baco has been in overall
decline in Gascony in favor of Colombard,
Ugni Blance and Folle Blanche.) “To us, this
grape embodies what makes Armagnac
unique, rich, structured and complex.”
Laubade also maintains a coopering house
to craft casks from oak purchased from the surrounding forest in Gascony, whose staves are aged
on the property.
In 2011, Laubade made what Lesgourgues calls
a difficult decision: increasing by three years the
overall aging of its flagship XO Armagnac, a blend
of more than 40 brandies with an average of 20
years in the cask. “We were able to make it more
complex, rounder and finer while working on the
finish, which is more exquisite than ever.” Holding
more spirit in cask makes for a more complex, yet
easily sippable finished product; it also means that
fewer bottles will be hitting store shelves.
Armin Grassa, co-owner of Château du Tariquet
(along with his brother Rémy) believes the American
consumer today is looking for that restrained, easy
drinkability. “Consumers are getting more interested in high-end Armagnacs,” he explains “Not
necessarily old, but they are looking for elegance
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHÂTEAU DE LAUBADE
ın
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Jérôme Delord tastes through the Delord line-up at Château Delord.
50 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014
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PHOTO COURTESY OF CHÂTEAU DU TARIQUET
Armin Grassa launched Château du Tariquet with his
brother Rémy in 1999.
Armagnac
Dartigalongue has
been producing
Armagnac since 1838.
(right) Château du
Tariquet X.O. is a
contemporary expression of Armagnac.
and good balance between alcohol and aromas.” He and his
brother launched Tariquet in 1999—a mere baby compared
to other houses—and aim to produce elegant, unaggressive
Armagnacs with natural color and light toast.
The overall market for Armagnac has changed in three
crucial ways, according to Jérôme Delord, Head Director
and Sales Manager for Château Delord. Old vintages are
nearly out of stock at some houses (meaning that blends
are comprised of newer brandies); China and Russia have
evolved into major export markets; and Armagnac is no
longer viewed as a “cheaper alternative” to Cognac, but as
a highly covetable option in its own right. “Armagnac will be
drunk because of the quality of the product, not because it
is vintage or cheaper than Cognac,” predicts Delord. But, as
total production for Armagnac rests around seven to eight
million cases, Delord admits it’s more of a “niche” than a
major market player.
However, today’s generation of producers is expanding
its portfolio, creating products that have opened up the
category, including Blanche d’Armagnac, a new category of
unaged Armagnac that is finding a place in cocktails. “In the
last three to five years, the trend for premium cocktails has
had a positive impact on Armagnac,” notes Lesgourgues.
“Bartenders, mixologists and sommeliers regard the product
with lots of respect because it’s traditional, full of history and
a long heritage.”
Benoit Hillion, Director of Armagnac Dartigalongue & Fils,
has witnessed a change during the past few years in Armagnac’s
overarching style. “The industry produces Armagnacs without
an excess of tannins, keeping the fruitiness of the distilled
wine.” As promotional budgets are strained, he believes producers need to market Armagnac. “We can simply promote
different ways of consuming Armagnac: pure, on the rocks,
with tonic, in cocktails and with dessert.”
Hillion points out that since Armagnac’s heyday (post-World
War II and before 1990) was followed by a time where sales
sharply decreased, the current generation of producers has
had to rely on what they’ve gleaned from relatives and books,
rather than first-hand. “We are more positive and are still looking to improve the process, to understand better what the
customer likes, to think about the packaging, etc.”
It’s traditional for Gascons to offer bottles of a recipient’s
birth vintage to friends and family members celebrating
birthdays—and fun to taste how those vintages are holding up. As more brandy lovers are becoming exposed to
Armagnacs of all ages and styles, Lesgourgues speculates
that Armagnac sales will continue to grow in the U.S.,
especially on the on-premise market, and in cities in the
Northeast, the West Coast, Chicago and Florida. For his
part, Hillion believes more tastings and events in the United
States will increasingly open up the category. As he puts it,
“Armagnac takes time to age, and the markets take time to
be developed.”
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