• Marquis de Puysegur Armagnac

Armagnac Marquis de Puysegur still honors the name of its prestigious ancestors. Coming from their own vineyards in the Lower Armagnac, the soils are renowned for their tawny sand soil. The best suited wines, from the Baco, Ugni Blanc, and Folle Blanche grape varieties, are selected then distilled in their column stills. This procedure provides traditional rich and typical aromas. Armagnac is a distinctive style of French brandy produced in the region of the same name in the heart of Gascogny. The officially demarcated area for the production of Armagnac encompasses three districts which lie in the "departments" of Gers, Landes and Lot-et-Garonne. The Bas-Armagnac produces the highest quality, most refined and complex Armagnacs.

Grapes : mainly Baco and some Ugni blanc. (Baco 22A, which was the first grape for distillation until it was replaced by Ugni Blanc in the 70’s.

Barrels : oak barrels of 400L. The oak is coming from the Monlezun-d’Armagnac forest and is local Gascon oak called aka Black oak.

Time in barrels : Their Armagnac usually ages between 50 to 65 years in the barrel, depending on the vintage and when the distillery feels that it is ready to bottle.

                           As an example, their 1955 was put under glass (in demijohn) in May 2013 (It stayed 57 years in the barrel)

                           1956 was put under glass (in demijohn) in May 2011 (It stayed 54 years in the barrel)

Bottling date : There is a lot number on the back label and you read it as follows L90449255 :

               -  L for Lot

                - 90 for the year

                - 44 is our bottle code (44 means 750ml bottle)

                - 9 is the year 2019

                - 255 is the day of the year, meaning today, September the 12th

About Armagnac: Armagnac is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. 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 only from ugni blanc grapes. The resulting spirit is then aged in oak barrels before release. Production is overseen by the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) and the Bureau National Interprofessionel de l'Armagnac (BNIA). Armagnac was one of the first areas in France to begin distilling spirits, but the overall volume of production is far smaller than cognac production and therefore is less known outside Europe. In addition, it is for the most part made and sold by small producers, whereas Cognac production is dominated by big-name brands. 

Armagnac is traditionally distilled once, resulting in 52% of alcohol. This results in 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 flavors and a brown color. Ageing in the barrel removes a part of the alcohol and water by evaporation (known as "angels' share") and allows more complex aromatic compounds to appear by oxidation, which further modifies the flavor. Since alcohol evaporates faster than water, the alcohol degree is naturally reduced by an average of 0.4% per year depending on the characteristics of the cellars (average temperature and humidity). When the Armagnac is considered as matured, it is transferred to large glass bottles (called demijohn) for storage. The main difference between Armagnac and other spirits is, that due to its relatively low alcoholic content, it is generally not diluted with water.