My World of Brandy

In this blogpost I return to Armagnac and this time a single vintage 1978 from the producer Samalens. But first a short description on how Armagnac is made. Armagnac is a brandy from France produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony. It is distilled from a white wine which is made from different allowed grapes such as Colombard, Ugni Blanc etc. The big difference from Cognac is that during distillation most producers uses column stills instead of pot stills. Armagnac is distilled once and after the distillation the ABV is around 52%. So compared to Cognac they say that Armagnac contains a more rustic character. Grapes are harvested in the fall and the wine is distilled throughout the winter. All distillation must be finished by March 31. Only French oak barrels are allowed to be used for the ageing of Armagnac. To be released as a vintage the Armagnac must be at least ten years old. The producer Samalens tarted in 1882 in the Bas-Armagnac region of Armagnac. Samalens are one of th