Baron De Sigognac 20 ans (700 ml)

The Guasch family's Château de Bordeneuve near Eauze has matured Armagnac in medieval cellars with beaten-earth floors — a passive humidity-control system that no modern warehouse replicates. The 20 Ans d'Âge is built on 50% Baco / 50% Ugni Blanc, a deliberate retention of the hybrid Baco grape that most Armagnac houses have quietly abandoned; Baco's thick skins and high natural sugar load drive the expression's characteristic density of dried fruit and grip. Château de Bordeneuve's sables fauves — the tawny sandy soils exclusive to Bas-Armagnac — drain rapidly, stressing the vine and concentrating aromatic precursors before harvest. Distillation runs through the estate's 1921 copper alembic armagnacais in a single continuous pass to approximately 56% ABV, a cut point that retains far more congeners than Cognac's double-distilled output. The spirit then rests a minimum of 20 years in 400–420-litre French oak (Limousin and Vosges forest) within those same cellars, developing rancio without the aggressive tannin extraction that smaller barrels would impose. What sets this expression apart is vertical integration so complete — vineyard, still, cellar, and bottling line under one roof — that no single stage is contracted out, an operational rarity in Armagnac. Bottled at 40% ABV, the 20 Ans shows the mature, oxidative depth of long oak contact while Baco's fruit architecture keeps the finish alive.