Domaine de Danis

Domaine de Danis is run by Victoire and Vincent Piquemal and produces mainly white wines - Côtes de Gascogne - on 38ha. However, grapes for Armagnac production are also grown on a small part of the vineyards. Victoire is particularly addicted to the Folle Blanche grape, so all available vintages since 1982 have been made with this grape variety. Older vintages are a blend of Baco and Ugni Blanc.

Folle Blanche grape

The first own bottlings were brought out by the parents Victor and Aline Piquemal in 1986. However, Victoire and Vincent's grandfather also produced Armagnac, which was not published under "Domaine de Danis".

distillation

After harvest, the grapes are pressed and fermented without filtration for eight to ten days, resulting in a wine with an alcohol content of around 9% to 10%.

Like many wineries in Armagnac, Domaine de Danis does not have its own still. Instead, they book a mobile distiller every year who takes the column still to the individual wineries by tractor on a trailer and then distils the wine according to the operator's specifications. Victoire and Vincent have been working with Marc Saint Martin for a very long time.

The Alambic Armagnacais is fired with wood and controlled to produce an Eau de Vie of 52% to 54%.

barrel storage

Domaine Danis has a wet and dry cellar, in which around 120 barrels are stored together. The two cellars are actively used to naturally reduce the alcohol content without dilution. In damp cellars, more alcohol than water evaporates due to the high humidity. The Angels Share is about 2% to 3% per year.

Freshly distilled Armagnac is aged in new Bartholomo casks in Le Freche for at least a year. After this first intensive maturation, where the fresh barrel can unfold its full effect, the Armagnac is transferred to used barrels in order to be able to better control the further maturation. The oldest barrels are around 45 years old

Victoire works with two different cask sizes: