Field Trips: Domaine de Lapeyrade Armagnac

Tasting vintage brandy at the source, and a few to try elsewhere

All photos by Nora McGunnigle

Pulling into a drive with faded signage in the village of Calignac (near the city of Nerac in the Gascony region of France), a glimpse of the well-worn fermentation tank just inside what looked like a barn marked our arrival. That tank, as inauspicious as it seemed upon first glance, was actually the entrance to Domaine de Lapeyrade’s Armagnac barrel cave and bottling facility.

Our hostess, Brigitte, is the third generation of her family distilling Armagnac in the Calignac ancestral home. It’s a labor-intensive task that results in a small amount of this grape-based spirit that ages over the span of years, if not decades. She explained the entire process to us in French, through Peter Carrington, proprietor of the Hotel Barge Saint Louis, who brings his passengers here regularly, translated as much as he could to the small English-speaking group in attendance.

Armagnac is a grape based spirit, in the brandy family. It’s also the oldest brandy distilled in France, going back for more than 700 years. Armagnac is a regional appellation and the spirit is made in a specific way that distinguishes it from cognac, the other AOC-restricted brandy in France. Armagnac is made in a special column still (called an alembic armagnacais), rather than a pot still, and is only processed once, not twice, which makes it a relatively lower alcohol sipper, and creates the spirit’s unique depth of flavor.

Domaine de Lapeyrade uses Ugni blanc grapes (one of four grape varietals permitted by AOC regulations) to create the wine that’s eventually distilled into Armagnac. After the wine is distilled, the resulting eau de vie goes into oak barrels to age for at least ten years. Since the ABV is on the low side, it’s not diluted with water, so some young armagnac can leave a burn. But as it ages… oh my.

I’d gotten a preview of Domaine de Lapeyrade’s single year vintages a few nights before going to the distillery. On the Saint Louis, after a dreamy dinner that involved French produce, fish, cheese, and wine, Peter came out to share a digestif with me and the other two passengers, along with his wife (and captain of the Saint-Louis) Wendy. Knowing that I was particularly interested in learning about Armagnac, they set out several vintages—1980, 1988, and 1991—for sharing and comparing.

All three were obviously aged for decades, and they all drank beautifully. Peter pointed out that the de Lapeyrades kept the liquid in its original cask, made from locally harvested Black Oak, until it was time to bottle and sell, so the year you see on the label is how many years the armagnac has been aging—as opposed to bottling and storing it in the bottle for however many years until releasing.

Keeping the quality of the spirit over such long periods of time is more an art than a science, and small farmhouse distilleries like Domaine de Lapeyrade have an advantage, in that they can constantly taste and determine when to shift from new oak barrels to older ones, and when a vintage has reached its peak. As to why single-vintage Armagnacs age so well, it’s a combination of the structure of the grapes (acidity, sugars, etc.), the distillation process, the local climate and the integrity of the oak the spirit ages in.

I wish I could remember the specifics of each vintage, but it was late into the night and I’d already drank several different wines and ate rich food till I thought I’d die happy, so I didn’t take tasting notes. I do remember how balanced they all were between grape sweetness and bracing booziness. And I do remember how pleasurable they were to drink. The dried fruit, smooth smoke, and toasted wood flavors that tend to present themselves in aged Armagnacs paired so well with the freshly made fruit sorbet served in a dark chocolate cup that came from the Saint Louis’ kitchen. Fruit based desserts and rich chocolate are perfect for Armagnacs, as is coffee, which makes it the perfect digestif.

The distillery’s barrel aging cellar is crammed full of barrels, going back in age to 1972. Spiderwebs and dust cling to some of the casks that have been tucked into corners for decades, and the cool, damp, dark cellar’s low bricked ceiling meant that the barrels could only be stacked in two layers. I hunted around, looking for the oldest vintages to see how the wood and cooperage was aging. Also, I wanted to see if they had my birth year (1973). Peter had mentioned previously that Brigitte would be able to fill and seal a bottle of whatever vintage upon request, and I was wrestling with myself about getting a bottle or not. Pro: super cool, and likely very delicious. Con: expensive (because old) and I’d have to check my bag when flying home.

As I watched Brigitte carefully draw the armagnac out out the barrels to fill the bottles and seal with red wax by hand for a few other people with me, I realized that I was presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity to share in something special. Each vintage is like a living thing, according to Brigitte, with unique flavors and chemical properties and nuances which change slowly over time. If I bought armagnac from the 1973 barrel five years ago, it would be different than the one I bought this summer, even if I kept it in the bottle all that time.

It’s a liquid memory of a specific time and place, when Brigitte’s father and grandfather were caring for the vines, when they crushed them to ferment into wine, when they fired up the community-shared alembic with wood to power its distillation. This vintage is something created 46 years ago that is still being appreciated and consumed today. Since Chateau de Lapeyrade doesn’t blend its vintages, and it’s as close to “barrel to glass” as it can be, every sip of their armagnac tells a story of a multi-generational labor of love.

As we walked out from the cellar back into the atypical intense summer heat, I asked Peter why he brings Saint Louis guests to Chateau de Lapeyrade to learn about this relatively unknown spirit from such a tiny producer.

“We think that guests benefit from such tours as they wouldn’t generally find them if traveling the region as regular tourists,” he said. “Brigitte, she’s the third generation of her family still producing Armagnac at their farm- always welcoming to our guests who are mesmerised by the traditional, small scale production her family are so proud of.”

He noted, having been on this tour dozens of time, that his favorite part is “[To see] big smiles as most guests reflect on a more simple way of life, a less frenetic way of living. A way that’s in tune with the seasons and lived in a land where traditions and family are central.”

The old bicycle that Brigitte’s “papa” used to ride to acquire provisions or visit his neighbors hangs on the wall at the entrance of the barrel cellar. I walked back to the car, clutching my newly purchased small bottle of 1973 armagnac, feeling genuinely privileged to have been a small part of the story of the de Lapeyrade family, their farm, and the well-tended to liquid waiting for its release into the world.

Bottles to try, selected by Editor-in-Chief Amanda Schuster

As previously mentioned, the armagnac of Chateau de Lapeyrade is not in wide distribution, however if you’re not lucky enough to visit that chateau, it is possible to experience the magic of armagnac and vintage armagnac (as well as selections from Bas-Armagnac and Haut-Armagnac) in other more accessible bottlings.

Domaines such as Ch. Laubade, Ch. Darroze, Fitte et Laterrade, and Castarède offer a range of vintages, and these make the perfect gift for anyone searching for a birth or special anniversary year. Three exceptional older vintage bottles recently tasted that held up beautifully were from the years 1975 (Castarède and Darroze) and 1979 (Fitte et Lauterade). Even the Ch. Laubade 1997 and an even more recent Ch. Arton 2006 Haut-Armagnac were bright, nuanced and satisfying.

But vintage shouldn’t be the only goal in finding an exceptional armagnac. As with whiskey, blending is an art form, and the right mix of eaux de vie from different barrels yield rich, layered taste experiences. Like cognac, armagnac uses designations such as VS (younger) and XO (older) or Reserve to inform the approximate age range and value of the spirit in the bottle. Others go for an age statement, as with single malt scotch.