Armagnac's tears

Indispensable at the beginning of all Armagnac tastings is to notice the fine lines of precious liquid that are more often than not present on the sides of the glass and these are known as the ‘tears’ (larmes in French). Over and above the theatrics that this phenomenon brings; why does Armagnac cry?

Tears, legs or arches: there is no shortage of names to describe this intriguing phenomenon observed when we drink a glass of Armagnac.  During the tasting, these arches of varying lengths and thickness coat the sides of the glass and slowly descend to the bottom of the glass.  These are what is known as Armagnac’s tears.

Some say that it is the blood of the vine.  Others, even more lyrical, call the tears the ‘soul’ of the Armagnac.  Though there is one point that everyone agrees on and that is that the ‘tears’ reveal the precious secrets of its origin, its age and the quality of the product. As, over and above the legends, this phenomenon is above all a question of science.

The tears do in fact have another name that is a lot more prosaic as they are also known as the ‘Marangoni effect’ named after Carlo Marangoni, a 19th century Italian physicist and pioneer of the mechanics of fluids.  He discovered that the tears were created by the evaporation of alcohol on the sides of a glass throughout a tasting.  The residue of water and sugar form drops that slowly descend along the glass, thus causing these streaks.

Though their presence tells us the proportion of residual sugar in the Armagnac, it is difficult however, even for the discerning eye, to get much more information from reading the number or thickness of the legs or any precision on the age or the quality of the product, without using the other senses for tasting.

Finally, is not the sight of these delicious tears more fascinating than their meaning ? They add to the mystery, myth and magic that makes Armagnac a nectar that is fully appreciated both for the science surrounding it as for its lovely stories… of which the poetic ballet of tears running slowly down the glass is a part of.