Who hasn't heard of the chef Jean Darroze? An emblematic figure of Landes gastronomy, this south-western chef has passed on his passion for cooking, fine wine, and local spirits to his son Francis Darroze. The latter quickly developed a sophisticated palate and, from the 1950s, began searching for lesser well-known Armagnacs. This project went so well that, in the 1970s, he had a cellar dedicated to ageing built. Next in line was his son, Marc, who continued this tradition of seeking liquid gold – this collection is now available at iDealwine.

A Darroze armagnac distilled in 1994 and bottled at cask strength in 2012, aged for 18 years in oak casks. It was produced at the Au Martin estate in Bas-Armagnac, which spans 3.5 hectares of tawny sands (sables fauves), a typical soil type for this area of the appellation, planted with Baco, Ugni Blanc, Colombard and Folle Blanche. The estate is managed by Guy Deyres and his son Jean-Luc, who also owns Rieston, and produces exclusively for Maison Darroze.