Artez varietal Bas Armagnac

The New Hampshire State Liquor Stores recently started carrying a 3-pack of 200 ml bottles from Artez, a small producer of Bas Armagnac. Each bottle is varietal Bas Armagnac distilled from one of the three grapes historically grown in the region: Folle Blanche, Ugni Blanc, and Baco. These days Ugni Blanc accounts for 90% of all Bas Armagnac production, with the other two at about 5% each. There are indeed distinct differences in the aroma and flavor profiles of the three varietal Armagnacs. Brandy aficionados will find it very instructive. Quality? Artez certainly ain't Laberdolive, but what else is? But it's only a fraction of the price, and IMO offers good QPR compared to other Armagnacs and Cognacs. Worth checking out.

My favorite is the Folle Blanche.

-Paul W.

That sounds fascinating, I would love to see if there's varietal character that I can discern. It's always been interesting to me that folle blanche is used for armangac, since it's so acidic. In fact, a folle blanche that I had in southern Santa Clara County holds the record for the single most acidic wine I've ever tasted. I will keep an eye out for this trio.

Apparently folle blanche was the original dominant grape in both Armagnac and Cognac until phylloxera came along. They switched to baco, which is a hybrid direct producer. Then, when grafting came along, ugni blanc came to dominate because it's easier to grow and less disease-prone than the other varieties.

Of the three Artez varietal Armagnacs, my favorite is the folle blanche.

-Paul W.