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THE EDITOR OF Drinks International, Christian Davis, is soon to be crowned a Musketeer of Armagnac by the Bureau National Interprofessionnel de l’Armagnac for his services to the spirit. This traditional relationship between the Musketeers and Armagnac is one of long-standing tradition, but times change and so do consumers. Which is why we now see a much younger audience beginning to emerge. You guessed it – the millennials.

Before diving into what’s new and exciting for armagnac, it’s important to admire the traditions and traits of France’s oldest spirit. The word ‘craft’ may be being bandied around left, right and centre on bottles from gin to ginger beer, but armagnac takes this term to the next level.

ARMA-WHAT?

For those not versed in the traditional production of armagnac, it is a result of distilling wine in a column still, or alembic, and ageing in oak barrels. The spirit is then either blended or left as a vintage – armagnac uniquely uses only grapes from one year in production.

Armagnac, unlike rum, is one of the most officiated spirits in the world. According to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel de l’Armagnac, producers must not use oak from outside Europe in the ageing process, they can only use 10 grape varieties, of which Folle Blanc, Bacao, Ugni Blanc and Colombard are most popular, and the spirit must be produced in the Armagnac region. These more obvious criteria only scrape the surface of the regulations surrounding the spirit.

Armagnac has everything needed to appeal to a global audience – history, a wide taste profile, it’s generally cheaper than single malt whiskies and has unique characteristics, such as its vintages. So why isn’t it on every supermarket shelf across the world?

Despite most armagnac producers residing in picturesque châteaux with armies of vines galloping over the surrounding hills, armagnac remains in the financial shadow of cognac. If you were to ask the average Joe what armagnac is, they would likely reply: “It’s a bit like cognac.”

According to Drinks International’s Millionaires’ Club, cognac brand Hennessy grew 10% in 2016 and, after selling 6.5m 9-litre cases that year, it’s widely understood that the brand owns more than half the entire cognac category.

SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION

When people think of craft they tend to imagine the small-scale production of a spirit, probably in a garden shed or basement. Armagnac has very few large-scale producers – in fact, not one appeared in the Millionaires’ Club for 2017. This is just one reason the French spirit deserves praise for its true craftsmanship and traditions.

The attention to detail by some producers is often staggering. For example, at Château du Tariquet the water used for dilution is distilled in exactly the same conditions as the armagnac to avoid any weakening of flavour.

The variety of stills or alembics used is worth a feature in itself. There is no given formula for distilling wine, regardless of the scale of production, and the stills often date back more than 100 years. The fact that most producers have been using the same machine for more than a century is hard to believe. In fact, the producers at Tariquet are so passionate about their still that, when they decided to expand production, the company paid €200,000 to have an identical alembic made from scratch to double its capacity without losing individuality.

Then there are the cellarmasters. They talk about their armagnac like they talk about their children. It’s impossible to do a quick tour of a château because of their enthusiasm to educate and emphasise the fact they don’t add any sugar or caramel flavourings – often used by supermarkets as a quick-fix for ageing and cost.

French spirits often come with the vintage-looking wax seal. It would be fair to assume this is actually done by machine but, in the case of Armagnac Delord, every single bottle is sealed by hand. There’s even a signwriter who personalises bottles to order for weddings and other celebratory events. If that isn’t craft then what is?

FRUIT FORWARD

Claire de Montesquiou of Domaine D’es Pérance is one of a growing number of female producers and cellarmasters working within armagnac. She believes that the category must listen to what younger consumers want.

De Montesquiou says: “A new trend which has emerged recently is the growing popularity among younger people in France and the rest of Europe of younger, fruitier armagnacs instead of old, woody ones.”

Some armagnac producers are now beginning to sell far more VS (Very Special) and VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) styles of armagnac because of the fruitier flavours and more elementary notes which are appealing to young drinkers who are new to the spirit.

Another trend developing in the armagnac category is different styles of finishing. Many cellarmasters have begun experimenting with finishing aged armagnacs in old wine or rum barrels. Château de Pellehaut now finishes its three-year-old armagnac in wine barrels for two or three years to give a rounded and fruity flavour. But, while this is an exciting move for the category, not everyone is on board with such new concepts.

Jérôme Castledine, from Châteaux Bordeneuve et Collections, says: “Armagnac is one of the oldest spirits in the world. It hasn’t changed much since it was first distilled in 1310, so why would we suddenly want to change anything? We’re not interested in changing anything because we feel like tradition has to be at the focus, at the heart of the spirit.”

STREET ARMAGNAC

Youth and armagnac are a lot more relatable than people think. Jérôme Delord from Armagnac Delord even developed the concept of Street Artmagnac when he invited young artists to spray-paint the wine containers like a piece of east London street art. Delord also puts emphasis on the distillation parties every year which traditionally celebrate the distilling season.

And the partying doesn’t stop there. Marquis de Montesquiou, which has a distribution partnership with Pernod Ricard, has designed its bottles so they are easy to handle and appeal to bartenders on the nightclub scene.

One more trend is taking on the greatest-ever drink – the emergence of the armagnac and tonic. Denis Lesgourgues from Château de Laubade introduced DI to the A&T, and for all those G&T lovers, this could unlock a whole new realm of possibilities – especially given the fact that armagnac producers say it doesn’t give you a hangover.

Another buzzword common in younger vocabularies is ‘sustainability’, and expectations of this are certainly the case within the armagnac industry. Château de Laubade has been planting oak trees for 20 years as a way of replacing the wood used for fuelling the stills. This circle of life is evident at other châteaux too. Château de Pellehaut has 70 cows on site and the farmers use the manure as fertiliser for the vines.

Olivier Bonnafont is the cellarmaster at Castarède Armagnac, which is based at a 16th-century castle. He is pioneering the organic side of armagnac production and argues that some vintages from before the introduction of pesticides and industrial farming are very good, so therefore the same must be possible today without the use of modern techniques.

Bonnafont says: “We don’t have any organic armagnac in production yet but we’re working towards it. It isn’t just about trying to exploit a new part of the market – our lifestyle is organic. I want to create a positive working vineyard for my boys to take over.”

FRENCH BLING?

It’s fair to say that when armagnac is mentioned in conversation the participants instinctively think of high prices. But this is not the case. A 70cl bottle of Tariquet XO from UK supermarket chain Waitrose costs £27, which is less than the Rémy Martin cognac range –and that’s after sale reductions.

Lots of producers in Gascony have also seen a resurgence in the Russian market following its political and financial difficulties over the past decade, while Castledine at Châteaux Bordeneuve expects the Italian market to grow three-fold over the next three years.

Although armagnac remains behind the pace in terms of sales and distribution, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A common theme in any industry is that, with expansion comes a loss of quality, and if there’s one thing that armagnac producers don’t want to do, it’s lose quality.

There are some producers who use profits from winemaking to drive armagnac volumes forward, but due to an even distribution of land within Gascony, it’s highly unlikely that armagnac will end up in the same situation as cognac, with one brand dominating.

Although ‘craft’ will no doubt continue to litter bottles of spirits for years to come, armagnac remains true to the essence of the word and will likely continue to expand at its own pace with modesty and grace. Unlike the daring missions of the Musketeers.