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 1998 and bottled at cask strength in 2012, aged for 14 years in oak casks. It was produced at the Salié estate in the village of Frêche in the heart of Bas-Armagnac which spans 2.5 hectares of tawny sands (sables fauves), a typical soil type for this area of the appellation, planted only with Baco. The estate is managed by Gilles Sarraute, who has used organic farming methods since 2008. It produces exclusively for Maison Darroze.