|
Chateau de Pomes Peberere Armagnac France The Château de Pomès Pébérère is a beautiful viticultural domaine, comprising 40 hectares of vines surrounding a Gascon Château, which dates from the 14th century. The estate has belonged to the Faget family without interruption since 1820. The vineyard is spread over a chalk plateau gently sloping towards the west, thus benefitting from maximum exposure to the sun. The soil is typical of the Ténarèze region, deep claychalk. It lends itself magnificently to the cultivation of the vine, as it has done for centuries; as proof, mosaics from the Franco-Roman period, found at Séviac. The basic grape varieties are Ugni Blanc and Colombard. Other varieties include Gros-Manseng, used for semi-sweet Vin de Pays, and Cabernet Sauvignon, for red Vin de Pays and Floc de Gascogne. The domaine’s distillery contains two “Alambics Armagnaçais”, the traditional continuous stills of the Armagnac region. Distillation takes place at the start of December, 30 to 40 days after the end of the vintage, and lasts up to a fortnight. “L’Armagnac Blanc”, the clear spirit thus obtained then finds its place among the 400 oak casks belonging to the Château. Each barrel or “pièce” holds 400 litres of eau-de-vie. It is the oak which will sustain the spirit, and give it its colour of fine amber, its characteristic Ténarèze bouquet of prunes. In the cellars, the slow and continual evaporation, the “Angel’s Share”, contributes to the improvement of the spirit and enhances the bouquet. Ariane bottle type Cognac standard bottle type Thus there are almost 40 different vintages maturing slowly, day after day, some over 50 years old. Eventually they are blended and bottled by the Faget family, to produce a range of brandies, Appellation Ténarèze Contrôlée, consisting of 5 year old (or VSOP), 10 year old (or XO), and 20 year old (or HORS D’AGE) blends, and many Vintage Armagnacs (1964 – 1965 – 1966 – 1974 – 1979). |
Armagnac does not stand alone in Gascony as a sign of good life, but it remains a distinctive element of the gastronomic identity of this region of France. Other delights can be found in Gascony traditional cuisine. The famous 