The Armagnac Vineyard

Régions de productionThe Armagnac Appellation forms a triangle covering three departments:

• practically all the Gers department,
• plus to the west a few cantons of Landes,
• and to the north a few parishes of Lot-et-Garonne.

Three producing regions provide brandies characterised by different traditions:

Bas-Armagnac (lower Armagnac) to the west: this is the jewel of the Appellation. It produces the most elegant brandies that possess the finest aromas, with a characteristic fragrance of prune. This black Armagnac has predominantly sandy soils and clay shot through with aggregates. Capital: Eauze
Ténarèze in the centre: this region produces the most robust, rich brandies with a pronounced aroma of violet. These require extended ageing to mature to their full, savage character. This is the region that produces the most Armagnac brandy. Capital: Condom.
Haut-Armagnac (upper Armagnac): contrary to its name, this region with its mainly limestone soils produces brandies of a poorer quality. Of the three Appellations, white Armagnac covers the largest area but has the least vineyards and produces the smallest volume of brandy. Because of the poor sales of Armagnac, many of the vineyard owners have switched to growing maize. Capital: Auch.
The Vinestocks
Like cognac, Armagnac is produced from the distillation of white wine. The vinestocks used are in some cases the same: Ugni blanc (also called Saint-Emilion and making up most of the vinestock since the phylloxera disaster), Colombard which is becoming more and more widespread, Folle Blanche, also called Piquepoult in Armagnac, which dominated the vinestock until the 19th century.