Description

For the past three generations, the Lesgourgues family have managed to make Château de Laubade an undisputed benchmark in the Armagnac category. Château de Laubade was founded in 1870 in the heart of Gascony, the original home of distillation in France, and has been owned by the Lesgourgues family since 1974. The vineyards, occupying 105 hectares, are situated in the Bas Armagnac region; the grape varieties Ugni Blanc, Baco, Colombard and Folle Blanche are cultivated using organic methods, then vinified and distilled at the Château. They use Gascony oak to age their Armagnacs, selected from local forests and dried in the open air for three years before being assembled into barrels. With vintages and ageing stock dating back to 1855, Château de Laubade is renowned in the French and export markets for producing the highest quality Armagnac. Floc is a traditional aperitif in Gascony, and is the local equivalent to Pineau des Charentes of Cognac. It is produced by adding young armagnac, of at least one year old, to unfermented grape juice. The mixture is then allowed to age in steel vats, or occasionally wood.