Janneau XO Armagnac 40%

Description

Janneau XO Armagnac is the flagship blended Armagnac from Janneau. It is a blend of  eaux-de-vie from Bas-Armagnac and Armagnac-Ténarèze, made with the Baco and Ugni Blanc grape varieties.

Janneau is one of the top Armagnac houses. Not only  is it one of the oldest of the great houses but  it is also the world’s leading brand of Armagnac, available in 80 countries worldwide. The company was founded by Pierre Etienne Janneau in 1851 and it is located in the heart of the Armagnac region in the town of Condom. Janneau Armagnac has been through some ownership changes since then: it was bought by Cognac Martell in the 1974, which was eventually bought out by Seagram, before the Giovinetti family bought it in 1993 with the intention of returning the business to a family-run concern. The company was last sold in 2014 to the French spirit specialist The Spirit France Group. Uniquely, Janneau are the only major house that distils, blends and ages its own stocks under its own roof.  Having access to their own distillery gives Janneau complete control over the quality and personality of their Armagnac.

Janneau’s fame comes partly from its unique mastery of both distillation methods allowed by the appellation decree: continuous distillation with Armagnac alembic and double distillation with Charente pot stills. Only the heart of the distillation, the best part left after the heads and tails are discarded, are used to produce this brandy which gives it great finesse with concentrated, fruity flavours. After distillation the vintage Armagnac is carefully aged in French Limousine oak barrels until it is ready to be bottled.  In barrel, the Armagnac leaches vanillins and tannins from the toasted oak which lend the spirit colour and flavours – without barrel ageing the spirit is just a colourless liquid. The depth of colour and complexity of flavours increase all the time the spirit is aged in cask and the colour becomes darker with age ranging from pale straw to rich amber. As well as becoming darker in colour as Armagnac ages it also becomes softer,  smoother and more elegant on the palate whilst aromas and flavours of prunes, violets, fig, honey, butterscotch and rancio develop.

The majority of the eaux-de-vie used in the Janneau XO Armagnac blend is aged for 30 years in old oak barrels. By law XO Armagnac the minimum age of spirit in the blend has to be aged for a minimum of 10 years.

Presented in the signature Janneau “Basque” bottles with godrons (ridges), which was introduced in 1980.