Dartigalongue - Bas Armagnac - Vintage 1984 - 40%
The Maison d'Armagnac Dartigalongue is located in Nogaro, in the Gers . It was founded in 1838 by Pascal Dartigalongue and is one of the oldest production houses in Armagnac. In 2010, Françoise Dartigalongue, then at the head of the company, convinced the husband of her niece Virginie, Benoit Hillion , to leave his job as an agronomist in Paris to settle in Nogaro and take over the business. The family carefully selects white brandies made from white wines from the 3 grape varieties Ugni Blanc, Baco and Folle Blanche. They come from the Bas-Armagnac terroir, with loamy and sandy soils renowned for producing fine and elegant Armagnacs. The distillation is carried out on a tray still, in continuous distillation at low degree. The oak barrels used for maturing the eau-de-vie are purchased from local coopers, mainly in Gascon oak barrels. Aging is carried out successively in two types of cellars: dry cellars for young eaux-de-vie, then humid cellars which provide roundness.
The youngest vintage Armagnacs sold by the House have a minimum of 15 years of aging in 400 liter oak barrels . After 40 to 50 years of aging in wood, they are then housed under glass, in carboys , in order to preserve their taste qualities and to stop the decrease in alcohol content.