Collection: INTRODUCING
Château de Pellehaut

Château de Pellehaut sits at the top of a hill overlooking the village of Monteal-du-Gers in the Ténarèze region of Armagnac. In fact, the name Pellehaut comes from the Roman pila haut, or high point.  The château itself, constructed in the 18th century, faces the Pyrénées which can be majestically seen in the distance on a clear day.

The Pellehaut estate covers 550 hectares, many of which are planted with grains or sunflowers, or used as grazing grounds for their herd of Blonde d’Aquitaine cows--whose compost helps to limit synthetic fertilizers. Vines now cover 250 hectares on several different types of soil, including mixtures of clay and limestone along with sand interspersed with small limestone pieces.

The estate is located in the center of Armagnac, where the terrain sees a slight rise in altitude as well as a shift from the sand of the Bas-Armagnac to clay and limestone of the Ténarèze. With additional nutrients and better water retention, the Ténarèze has soil much better adapted to the production of quality table wine. For their armagnacs, they only use grapes grown on the parcels covered with primarily sand, helping to give their spirits unusual finesse for the region.

The chateau’s wine is distilled by Patrick Michalouski in one of his traveling column stills in November, exiting at 54% alcohol. Afterwards it goes into new 420-liter oak barrels fabricated by the region’s top cooper Gilles Bartholomo. Spirits are left to age at their natural strength without the addition of any water.

Because of the higher clay and limestone content, spirits in the Ténarèze tend to more rigid at the beginning of their lives, unlike those in the Bas-Armagnac which are softer and fruitier. Probably because of that very quality, Ténarèze spirits usually age better than those from the Bas-Armagnac.

Pellehaut’s armagnacs defy this principle, however, namely because their Folle Banche is planted on sandier soils that help produce a round, supple spirit. With excellent terroir, annual investment in new oak barrels, and someone in charge of monitoring and aerating barrels, it is no surprise that Pellehaut’s armagnacs now stand as number one in the Ténarèze.