Francis Darroze 2006 Domaine de Pouteou 15 yr Bas-Armagnac 750ml

Francis Darroze founded his négociant business in 1974 after growing up in his father's respected Landaise restaurant, where an early love of fine cuisine and Gascon eaux-de-vie set the course for his career. He spent decades touring the cellars of Bas-Armagnac in search of small, unheralded estates capable of producing exceptional single-domaine spirits, refusing to blend across properties or dilute the alcohol with softened water, a practice that lets each Armagnac evaporate and concentrate naturally over its years in barrel. His son Marc, a trained oenologist, joined the business in 1996 and continues the same estate-driven philosophy today.

This bottling comes from Domaine de Pouteou, a 45-hectare property in Lannemaignan farmed by the Tarbe family across several generations. The estate's sandy soils support a blend of Baco, Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard, distilled using a continuous still and matured for fifteen years in regional oak, developing depth and character specific to this single terroir.

The nose leans toward dried fig, prune, and toasted nut, with vanilla and fine wood spice emerging as it opens in the glass. On the palate it turns full and dense, showing butterscotch, nutmeg, and a savory rancio edge, closing on a long, warm finish with lingering oak.