AGING
What are the best conditions for aging armagnac in the cellar?
Our armagnacs, once distilled, are aged in our cellars for decades. There are several pitfalls in this important phase that must be avoided. We often talk about the quality of the selected oak trees, the more or less toasted character of the barrel assembly by the cooper, the aeration of the Armagnac during aging… However, we talk much less often about the importance of the conditions in the aging cellars.
What exactly are the consequences on the style of the Armagnacs?
A humid and warm cellar accelerates the aging process. Indeed, the humidity in the cellar will lead to a faster loss of alcohol (but less loss of volume) and will give the Armagnacs characters of undergrowth, rancio, nuts and other mushrooms. Armagnac will find its balance between the rapidly decreasing alcohol, the tannins softened by the ambient humidity and the aromas much faster. In these humid conditions, it is rare to keep armagnacs in wood for more than 40 years.
A dry cellar, on the other hand, will slow down the aging process. We’ll see little or no loss of alcohol, much more loss of volume (the dry air in the cellar absorbs the water contained in the Armagnac) allowing the Armagnac to keep its freshness, its bite, its ardor and its youth. The ageing process is slowed down, the Armagnacs need more time to balance themselves. These dry conditions allow for a very long aging in wood, from 65 to 80 years.
Our armagnacs, once distilled, are aged in our cellars for decades. There are several pitfalls in this important phase that must be avoided. We often talk about the quality of the selected oak trees, the more or less toasted character of the barrel assembly by the cooper, the aeration of the Armagnac during aging… However, we talk much less often about the importance of the conditions in the aging cellars.
What exactly are the consequences on the style of the Armagnacs?
A humid and warm cellar accelerates the aging process. Indeed, the humidity in the cellar will lead to a faster loss of alcohol (but less loss of volume) and will give the Armagnacs characters of undergrowth, rancio, nuts and other mushrooms. Armagnac will find its balance between the rapidly decreasing alcohol, the tannins softened by the ambient humidity and the aromas much faster. In these humid conditions, it is rare to keep armagnacs in wood for more than 40 years.
A dry cellar, on the other hand, will slow down the aging process. We’ll see little or no loss of alcohol, much more loss of volume (the dry air in the cellar absorbs the water contained in the Armagnac) allowing the Armagnac to keep its freshness, its bite, its ardor and its youth. The ageing process is slowed down, the Armagnacs need more time to balance themselves. These dry conditions allow for a very long aging in wood, from 65 to 80 years.
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