A unique and ancestral know-how
For more than a century we have been convinced that Armagnac should not tolerate mediocrity.
This prestigious origin, the very traditional method of production and the need for a very meticulous control of natural ageing provide the initiated with the strong flavours of an elegant Armagnac.
This quality, our only goal, has forged our reputation since 1868.
The vineyard of our domaine of Castandet has been planted in the privileged region of Bas-Armagnac, ancestrally protected by deep forest of oaks which gave the region the nickname "Black Armagnac. Our charming second empire château conceals a very traditional wine and spirits house which intimately maintains the secret of our family way of producing Armagnac.
We only cutivate pure baco which is best suited to overcoming vine diseases and consequently ensures the quality of an excellent fruity white wine from which our Armagnac is obtained.
We only distil in a continuous still, following the original 'Armagnacaise' method. The eau de vie comes out of the still with an alcoholic strength of 54%, full of the power of the baco aromas. We never add distilled water to lower the degree, preferring to allow time and the natural ageing process for maturing.
After distillation, our eau-de-vie is carefully put into our new oak barrels ad we let the ageing operate in our 100-year old cellar. We guarantee that the ageing is completely natural and never has any caramel added for colour or other artificial addititives. Twenty four years are necessary to reach an alcoholic strength of 42% with the quality of a highly praised eau-de-vie.
The outstanding flavours that connoisseurs confer on our Armagnac are: liquorice, chestnut and a touch of violet. They define it as "an exceptional eau-de-vie, with something flighty".
We make no blending. After at least 24 years of ageing and only when sales demand requires it, we transfer the precious spirits into wax-sealed bottles so that quality should not be tainted. In addition to our classic '24 year guaranteed' Armagnac we also offer a 1974 Vintage Armagnac which we bottled after 30 years when we considered that it had reached the optimal quality.