Armagnac is exclusively produced in the départements of Gers, Landes and Lot-et-Garonne, in the heart of Gascony. The region has been honoured with the title of Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (A.O.C.) since 1936.
Located inland from Bordeaux and surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the majestic Pyrenées, Gascony bears a mountainous landscape cut through by numerous rivers and streams.
Being entirely unpolluted, the air is pure and refreshing.
Bas-Armagnac has its damp oceanic influence moderated by the Landes forest. Its soil composition of clay and sandy-silt boulbenes produces Armagnacs that are light and fine in style, with lots of fruit.
Panjas
Chabot’s Distillation, Vinification and Ageing Cellars
Esplavis
Chabot’s Château and Vineyards
Eauze
Chabot’s Cellars
Lannepax
Chabot’s Old Vintage Cellars
Armagnac-Ténarèze is a transitional zone with soil composed of limestone and clay, which produces powerful, full-bodied and robust Armagnacs.
As we journey into Haut-Armagnac, the ground beneath us changes once again into more of a Mediterranean climate.
Chabot Armagnac is born of the complex meeting of nature in its many forms: the life-giving sun, the nourishing soil and rich soothing grapes. So perfect is the blend of all these elements that one might believe destiny, rather than fortune, to be at play.
The first ingredient in Chabot Armagnac is the climate: temperate, light and effortless. A warm sun bathes the region for most of the year and the air is clear and dry.
Bas-Armagnac is, in particular, further blessed by a unique microclimate. The gentle breezes coming in from the Atlantic Ocean and the buffer of the nearby forest regulate both temperature and precipitation, creating favourable conditions for an extraordinary Armagnac.
Any analysis of what makes Armagnac special must begin with the earth.
The low lying land of Bas-Armagnac was once a sea channel. When the waters receded, it left behind tawny sands and boulbenes – a sandy-silt mix – with a high iron content from the nearby Pyrenees. This soil makes Bas-Armagnac the source of the finest and most structured brandies.
The clay and limestone soil of the Ténarèze region to the east is the source of something more robust and powerful, producing richer and rounder Armagnacs.
Finally, Haut-Armagnac to the east and south has a chalky soil with only a few vineyards scattered throughout the area.
The many flavours and hues of the grape.
Of the ten grape varieties authorised in the Armagnac region, Chabot has long used Baco Blanc, a rustic, structured and expressive white grape that is voluptuous and full in volume.
Colombard, an early-fruiting white grape has a youthful aroma in comparison.
The Folle Blanche grape is light and delicate, with a jasmine scent.
And most notably, the fresh and fruity Ugni Blanc variety produces wines with high acidity and low alcohol content, making it ideally suited to distillation.
Part science, part art, part magic, the creation of Chabot Armagnac is something akin to alchemy - the evolution of a simple grape into liquid gold. Owners of its entire Armagnac operation, Chabot attentively oversees each stage of the mystical process, from harvesting, vinification, distilling, ageing and blending through to bottling, ensuring the precise execution of each step of the creation process.
The journey begins in the sprawling vineyards with harvesting, referred to as the vendange, during the balmy days of September and early October. Careful eyes and hands are at work selecting only the finest grapes to be vinified into white wine by a team of experts, known as oenoloques.
Through the short, cool days of winter, attention turns to the distillation process. The traditional Alambic Armagnaçais Copper Still perfected by Monsieur Verdier in 1890 is still used today to distill white wine into young Armagnac or eaux de vie.
The eau de vie is colourless on leaving the still and its alcohol content may vary from 52% to 60% by volume.
Unlike other brandies, Armagnac is distilled just once. The simplicity of the process allows nature to shine through, leaving the rich aromas of the wine untouched.
When it leaves the still, the colourless brandy is placed in a cask, handmade in oak from the local forest of Monlezun. The selection and careful preparation of the wood is extremely important because it is the ageing in oaken casks that gives Armagnac much of its originality and character. The barrels are stored in temperature-humidity controlled underground cellars.
By tradition, Armagnac is aged by vintage – year of harvest. Single vintage brandy, particular to Armagnac, must correspond exclusively to just one year’s harvest.
Chabot is fortunate to have guarded and retained certain vintages in its cellars, dating as far back as 1888.
When fully matured, Armagnac is transferred to older casks. Only when the Cellar Master is completely satisfied with the brandy’s development, distinctive aromas, flavours and hue is it ready to be blended.
Chabot has its own traditional secret for combining Armagnacs of varying ages and in different proportions, producing a final product of individual character and distinction – such as the X.O., Napoléon Special Reserve and V.S.O.P.
Years, decades and sometimes centuries later, the amber-coloured aromatic Armagnac is ultimately decanted into finely crafted glass bottles that reflect the character and heritage of the Armagnac within.
The label descriptions, outside those of the vintages, always refer to the age of the youngest Armagnac in the blend.
The V.S.O.P. is a marriage of eaux de vie where the youngest Armagnac has aged in wood barrels for more than five years. Napoléon Special Reserve is aged for more than six years, and the X.O. Superior more than twenty-three years.
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