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 2001 and bottled at cask strength in 2013, aged for 12 years in oak casks. It was produced at the De Couzard-Lassale estate in Mauléon-d’’Armagnac, Bas-Armagnac, which spans 13 hectares of tawny sands (sables fauves), a typical soil type for this area of the appellation, planted only with Folle Blanche, a grape variety whose use fell out of fashion during the Phylloxera crisis in the late 19th century. The estate is managed by a Mr Cazenave, who owns a medical laboratory in Nice and whose bold choice to become a winegrower in Armagnac has been rewarded with incredibly sophisticated spirits.