GRAND XO PLATINUM (700 ml)

The Guasch family's Château de Bordeneuve near Eauze — whose medieval cellars predate most of France's great wine estates — distils on a copper alembic armagnacais installed in 1921, a continuous-column still that produces a single-pass distillate at approximately 56% ABV, far lower than Cognac's double-distillation output and deliberately richer in congeners. That technical choice is the foundation of everything Baron de Sigognac does. The estate's tawny-sandy soils (sables fauves) of Bas-Armagnac — the sub-appellation's most prized substrate — drain freely and stress the vine just enough to concentrate aromatic precursors without sacrificing the region's characteristic fruit lift. Maturation proceeds in French oak barrels of 400–420 litres (Limousin and Vosges forest oak cited for estate expressions), the traditional Armagnac format that allows slower, more even oxidative exchange than the smaller barriques of Cognac. The Grand XO Platinum's blend draws on the house's signature 50% Ugni Blanc / 50% Baco formula — Baco being a hybrid grape now largely restricted to Armagnac, contributing a density of dried fruit and spice that all-Ugni Blanc houses simply cannot replicate. What sets this expression apart within the XO tier is the estate's full vertical integration: vineyard, distillery, ageing cellar, and bottling line under one roof, with reserves in the 'Paradise' cellar stretching back to 1893. The Grand XO Platinum draws on those deep reserves for its blending backbone, delivering a long, rancio-touched finish that reflects decades of slow Gascon oak contact.