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Acheter en ligneThe Estate in the heart of the Bas Armagnac
The Château de Maniban is located 1 km south of the town of Mauléon d'Armagnac , in the Gers .
Mauléon d'Armagnac takes part to the ten well-known towns composing the Grand Bas Armagnac.
The Bas Armagnac is the jewel of the appelation – its Armagnacs are famous for being the finest, according to connoisseurs.
This estate dates back to the 17th centuries and belonged to the Maniban Family. This family is the first who introduced Armagnac at the court of Toulouse in the 17th century.
The Bas Armagnac
The Bas-Armagnac is located in the west part. The vines grow on poor and acidic clay loam soils with pockets of iron elements in places that colour it reddish brown, hence their name ‘tawny sands’. This zone produces light, fruity, delicate and highly reputed eaux-de-vie.
In the Bas Armagnac, the Grand Armagnac, composed of only a few towns, is an ideal territory. Indeed the Château de Maniban is adjacent to the famous estates : Lafitte, Laberdolive, Lacquy, Ravignan.
The grapes
The eau de vie is produced from white wine made with white grapes, with a good acidity and a low alcohol degree.
Our estate of 16 hectares is planted with four grapes :
The Folle Blanche : was called "piquepoult"
Historical grape variety for Armagnac - produces fine and often floral eaux-de-vie with great elegance
The Ugni Blanc :The distillation grape par excellence-produces fine eaux-de-vie of high quality.
The Colombard : fruity and spicy aromas are prefered for blends.
And the Baco, planted in 2015 : brings smoothness and aromas of ripe fruits.
The know-how
More than 180 years of experience, love and work has allowed our family to acquire a know-how on the distillation , the perfection and maturation of this eau-de-vie ,typically French.
To ensure the quality, the distillation and the bottling are accomplished directly in our Estate.
The Armagnac distillation
In November, when the fermentation process is done, it is time for the distillation. The Armagnac distillation is made in our estate with two Armagnac-type alembic,whose an Orthez alambic which has more than a half-century years old.
The main characteristic of this alembic is to be a continuous still. After the distillation, the eau-de-vie alcohol degree can vary between 52% and 60%.
The Armagnac ageing
Our Armagnacs are aged in the traditional way in oak barrels made by local artisans. First stored in new oak barrels with a capacity of 400 litres, during a few years, just until the optimal dissolution of the components in the wood, the eau-de-vie can then be transferred into older oak barrels for a slower ageing.
This mysterious alchemy between the oak barrel, the cellar master's work and the cellar, gives each Armagnac its identity
Château de Maniban
Au loin, le rose des Pyrénées s’évapore
La belle lune d’argent fait place à l’aurore.
Une vigne d’hiver sans grappe, mais aux branches ramassées,
Dresse des sillons au minutieux travail de ceps taillés.
Pour honorer le Gers pays des mousquetaires,
Une escapade, parenthèse d’histoire bicentenaire,
Chez Castarède, nous fêtons le Bas Armagnac,
Chassons palombe et sanglier, le tout en vrac.
A l’alambic cuivré que le rayon caresse
S’inscrit les années de millésimés princesse.
Il diffuse des arômes épicés du Colombard,
Oubliant que : chasse est notre but de routard.
Caché quelques siècles, puis découvert au grand jour.
Au mur du château les traits de l’ode à l’amour,
Expriment une débauche qui semble bien à son aise,
Ne cachant, ni nu, ni danse, ni plaisir, ni baise.
Dès le matin Florence, la dame de Maniban
Hume, le nectar ambré, enfermé si longtemps,
Délicatement, elle en pose une goutte sur sa main,
Du regard imagine qu’elle sera le parfum.
A ce point de splendeur on ne peut trouver mots le domaine à lui seul, si paisible et si beau
Cache sous d’épais murs un Moyen Age hérité,
Puis une autre histoire, des Castarède, dessinée.
