The venue, the chai (“cellar”), also plays a decisive role and contributes significantly to the maturation of our Armagnac – let’s call it sensory acoustics. Because the fact is – and you can ask our angels – the more humid a cellar is, the rounder the brandy will be and the more alcohol will be lost; the alcohol molecules are the first to evaporate, after all.
On the other side of the coin, the drier a cellar is, the richer the brandy and the more water is lost because the water molecules are the first to evaporate when exposed to aridity. In essence, it takes at least two to form a band – that’s what we’re trying to say.
Just like rock ’n’ roll, Armagnac is an attitude about life: maladjusted, passionate, unashamed, and soulful at the same time. Brazenly resisting the passage of time, this spirit remains not only the oldest, but also arguably the most authentic in the world. Armagnac is a very distinctive and seductive brandy.
We might have no sympathy for the devil, but we’d rather live in the memory motel than in a yellow submarine. And as with any band, quality requires continuity. Since 1955, there have only been three maîtres de chai who have ensured that the house’s savoir-faire in the production of Armagnacs has been passed down from generation to generation.
The Société Produits d’Armagnac, home of Marquis de Montesquiou and Comte de Lauvia, was founded in 1936 by Pierre de Montesquiou, a politically ambitious Armagnac merchant and co-founder of the Confrérie des Mousquetaires de l’Armagnac.
