How to read a label

In the bottle Armagnac no longer ages and is ready to be tasted as soon as it is on sale.

To understand the labels that decorate the bottles, it is necessary to know the diverse commercial denominations given to Armagnacs depending on their length of ageing in wood.

Age references

These references always correspond to the youngest eaux-de-vie in the blend.

They are generally presented like this: 15 years old, 20 years, 30 years, etc.

The commercial denominations

We also find Armagnacs carrying special names such as Three Star (***), V.S.O.P., Hors d’Age, X.O. … For example, an Hors d’Age is a blend of eaux-de-vie of which the youngest has been aged in wood for more than ten years.

The vintages

Lastly, the Vintage (10 years minimum of ageing in wood), specific to Armagnac and corresponds solely to the year of harvest declared on the label (1934, 1965, 1976,...).

Towards simplification.

Since 2010, the Armagnac professionals decided to simplify the age categories on their labels: