Domaine Seailles Armagnac, 2010

From the Domaine: Séailles has been a family-owned estate since 1961 and lies in the commune of Mouchan at the heart of Gascony, just a stone’s throw from the Château de Laressingle and the Abbaye de Flaran.

It occupies a terroir which lies on high hillsides and is very much favoured by geology because it is made up of fine clay lime soil and broken stone, with an eastern and southern exposure and an amazing amount of sunshine. The estate is made up of 25 hectares of vineyards half of which are planted both with white grapes: Sauvignon, Gros Manseng, Ugni Blanc, and red: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. The Ugni Blanc grape is essentially used only for the Domaine’s traditional product, the Armagnac Ténarèze.

The Domaine Séailles is one of the pioneers in organic viticulture making Côtes de Gascogne wine. We have not used any chemical fertilisers, herbicides, insecticides and synthetic chemical products since 1998, thus encouraging a strong expression of our grape varieties. The Domaine is AB certified by Ecocert and is currently undergoing NOP certification.

Ugni Blanc is the only grape variety used for the wine for distillation on plots of land covered by the Armagnac Ténarèze A.O.P. The soils are of the clay-lime type which is so typical of the Ténarèze area. The distillation is carried out at the Domaine using an old wood-heated continuous still and usually takes place in November.

The Domaine’s brandies are aged in 300 or 400-litre oak barrels. Most of them are vintaged at between 44° and 48° and their characteristic features include a strong fragrance of prunes and crystallised fruit and a powerful, muscular mouth which is typical of the Ténarèze terroir.

The Domaine also ages Armagnacs made from an assemblage of a number of vintages at least twenty years old, reduced to 44°; although these are suppler and rounder, they still retain the fruity aromas of the Domaine’s brandies.

The Armagnacs only go on the market after 20 years of ageing in our wine storehouses.

The Domaine’s Armagnacs are to be found at wine merchants’ and in the finest restaurants. A number of Michelin-starred establishments regularly trust us to supply them. Organic Conversation began in 1997.