The Armagnac secrets

The magic of the distillation

		After the grape-harvest, usually around end of October, beginning of November, the distillation of the harversted white wine is done at the Château de Cassaigne. This operation is done with the help of an " armagnacais still ", which is a continuous heat still, very different from the " Charentais " still used in Charentes for making of Cognac.
Once started, the distillation does not end until all of the white wine has been transformed : it is a continous distillation, night and day. At the end of this essential step, a transparent eau-de-vie is obtained containing around 55 to 60 % of alcohol. The distillation is always a privileged moment, an event that brings every one together to taste the eau-de-vie from the recent harvest. At Cassaigne, it is in the Château’s superbe kitchen that these runions have been held for several generations on.