Most of you probably had a sip of Cognac but what about Armagnac? Armagnac is one of France’s oldest spirits and has been in production for over 150 years before Cognac. From wikipedia, Armagnac is a type of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. Armagnac is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle Blanche, and Ugni blanc. Traditionally the winemakers use column stills rather than the pot stills that are used in the production of cognac. Cognac is made predominantly from Ugni blanc grapes…Armagnac is traditionally distilled once, resulting in 52% alcohol content. The result is a more fragrant and flavorful spirit than cognac, where double distillation takes place. Long ageing in oak barrels softens the taste and causes the development of more complex flavours and a brown colour. Many houses will distill the different grapes separately and then blend after barrel-ageing has occurred. And of course, blending the grapes takes skill and shows off the winery’s house style.
BC Liquor stores carry 19 different bottles of Armagnac ranging from $75 to $5500. You may want to consider purchasing Armagnac for a wine lover that enjoys Cognac, but maybe has not tried its cousin, Armagnac. Here is the URL to the BC Liquor store listings for Armagnac. Enjoy!
Great article Karl – armagnac definitely deserves more love in BC!
I’d add one point that in 2005 the Armagnac AOC was updated to include Blanche Armagnac, an unaged eau de vie that otherwise conforms to the aged rules. Since the Cognac AOC doesn’t make a provision for un-aged spirits, I feel its one of the key differentiators.
Blanche is hard to get a hold of in in YVR, but I’ve brought some in from FR and it’s wonderful, as a stand alone spirit and in cocktails. Cheers and keep up the great work!
That is very interesting. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.