Armagnac starts earliest distillation ‘in memory’

The BNIA (Bureau National Interprofessionnel l’Armagnac) has announced that Armagnac distillation started on 8 October, the earliest date “in memory”.

Thanks to an early harvest, Armagnac distillation started particularly soon this year.

Favourable weather conditions in the spring got the vines off to a good start, said BNIA spokesperson Amanda Garnham. This was followed by a very hot July, and then the “right” amount of rain in August, which sped up grape maturation.

Harvesting started two weeks earlier than usual on 10 September.

“It is important to harvest early as the producers are looking for wines that are high in acidity and low in alcohol for the distillation and particularly as October can be a very sunny and warm month,” Garnham explained.

Wines would need to be kept cold or distilled quickly in the event of an early harvest, she added.

The harvest itself was deemed “good quality”. “It will be very fruity and rich with fine lees, so the producers are expecting a particularly good vintage,” Garnham said.

According to Armagnac Appellation requirements, distillation for a given year must be finished by 31 March.