Armagnac vs Cognac: What’s the Difference?

Key facts

Armagnac region

Gascony, 3 sub-areas

Armagnac distillation

about 95% single, continuous

Cognac distillation

twice, copper pot stills

Permitted grapes (armagnac)

10 varieties

XO in both

at least 10 years

Two regions: Charente and Gascony

Cognac comes from the area around the town of Cognac in the Charente, in western France. Armagnac comes from Gascony, several hundred kilometres further south.

Armagnac has three sub-areas: Bas-Armagnac in the west, Armagnac-Ténarèze in the centre, and Haut-Armagnac to the south and east. The sub-area often appears on the label.

Cognac: two distillations in copper pot stills

Cognac distils its wine twice in copper Charentais pot stills. The first pass gives a mid-strength liquid; the second brings the eau-de-vie up to about 70%.

Two passes give a clean, fine spirit, which then goes into oak.

Armagnac: mostly one continuous distillation

About 95% of armagnac is made in the alambic armagnacais, a continuous still. Wine flows in without stopping, and the vapour rises through a column, picking up aroma from the wine on the way. Some producers instead distil twice in pot stills, as in Cognac.

Spirit from the continuous still usually comes off at about 52–60%, well below cognac. Lower strength means more aromatic compounds from the wine carry through, so young armagnac tends to be fuller and more intense than a cognac of similar age.

Both then age in oak. Armagnac has traditionally used oak from Gascony’s own forests, which gives plenty of tannin and colour, while cognac leans on oak from the Limousin and Tronçais forests. Time in cask turns the clear spirit amber and is what the age grades on the label measure.

The grapes

Cognac relies on Ugni Blanc, planted in over 98% of its vineyards. Armagnac permits 10 varieties and spreads its use across more of them.

• Ugni Blanc: the workhorse of both regions, giving a sharp, low-alcohol wine
• Baco (Baco 22A): a hybrid widely planted in Armagnac, giving roundness and long ageing potential
• Folle Blanche: fine floral aromas, but hard to grow because it is prone to disease
• Colombard: fruit and spice

Age grades and the year on the label

Armagnac uses the same grade names as cognac and also counts age from the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend.

A vintage armagnac comes from a single harvest, and the year on the label is the harvest year, not the bottling year. Vintages are usually reduced with little water, so they are often bottled at about 40–48%.

Questions people ask