Portrait of winegrower Armagnac
At 130 kilometers South of Bordeaux, in La Bastide d’Armagnac, in the Landes, Martine Lafitte perpetuates with passion and devotion the family-owned estate created in 1807. Five generations succeeded to defend the true values and knowledge of THE Armagnac.
At La Bastide d’Armagnac, the local castle, built by Victor Louis, the architect of the Grand Theater of Bordeaux, still stands proudly. If you take the road to Villeneuve, you will find the house of the Domaine Boingnères. Initiated very early to the family adventure, Martine Lafitte tackled the estate head on, in 1953, to keep on producing Armagnac and to develop the partnerships with the restaurant owners, the sommeliers, the connoisseurs. A regional heritage, a brandy with an origin, a cultural and gastronomic richness that should be recalled to the wine and great wine lovers to end a tasting meal. “Why not serve 2 or 4 cl in a glass at the beginning of a meal and let it patiently wait, unveiling their aromas, their warm conviviality, to close an excellent dinner?” Martine Lafitte suggests.
Grown over 24 hectares - half on the village of La Bastide and half on the village of Saint-Vidou where the owner’s parents rest in peace - the three varietals: Folle Blanche, Colombard and Ugni blanc, share the terroir. It has to be noted that 70 hectoliters of must per harvested hectare finally give only 10 hectoliters of brandy…
L’alambic
Martine Lafitte is partial to
Folle Blanche: 14 hectares of an exceptional varietal for the making of a great Armagnac. Its grapes give the elegance, the femininity, its floral and ethereal side. The
"masculine" notes are brought by the Colombard. As for the Ugni blanc, it is there to link the varietals in the blend.
Léon Lafitte, her father, who would have celebrated his 100 summers this year, is not there anymore to cite his adage in which he makes a parallel between Bordeaux wines and Armagnac:
“Great wine, great varietal – Great brandy, great varietal”. But
“be careful, Martine exclaims, when the Folle goes crazy, you must drive crazy”, just because it is a sensitive varietal.
“Like my father, I seek balance and neatness of the Armagnac. The best vintages are 1968, 74, 75, 79, 88, 90...” she ads.
In Armagnac, give time to the time…
Time to harvest. Time for distillation that can last 13 to 15 days. The still is a Sier-type but a unique model that works with gaz or wood and has been built by Mr Broustet. It is closely watched after 24 hours a day. The nearly 62-meter long worm and the famous swan neck will enable a continuous distillation, specific to the production of the Armagnacs of 52°.
“In 2007, we have produced 39 ‘pièces’ [400 litre oak casks], and 79 hectoliters of pure Folle. In 2010, I have chosen to work only the Folle to celebrate the 100 years of my late father. Each ‘pièce’ will find a place in the quiet winery for many years of ageing…”
Martine Lafitte associated with four other legendary domains of Bas-Armagnac to preserve and carry on their knowledge:
Château Tarriquet, de Briat, de Lacquy and Laberdolive. An extract of point 12 of the charter gives an idea of the spirit in which each tries to perpetuate an identity, a mythical heritage:
• Distillation will exclusively have to be undergone on the estate with an Armagnac-type still that has to be registered and remain under the producer’s control.
• The brandy that comes out of the still, set aside for ageing, has to be immediately stored into ‘pièces’ or casks made of English oak from France.
• All the production of each year will have to be stored in ‘pièces’ or casks of 5 years or less.
• Ageing exclusively in ‘pièces’ or casks until 15 years.
• No addition of products for an artificial ageing is allowed.
• The Armagnacs sold as Vintage must not have reduced of more than 0.8%.
• The bottling will be done at the estate with the comment
"Bottled at the estate" on the label.
You will find the Armagnac Boingnères on the tables of famous restaurants like Taillevent, Troisgros in Roanne, Pic in Valence, the Crocodile in Strasbourg, but also in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, London… without forgetting one of the greatest connoisseurs:
“Chez Joséphine” in Paris. Otherwise, six times a year, Martine Lafitte presents her Armagnacs to the Club des Professionnels du Vin. An annual appointment in Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Nice and Geneva, with professionals of the sommellerie and restaurants. For the Folle Blanche, according to the analysis, the vintage 2010 looks like it is going to be excellent: the quality, the maturity, the aromas, thanks to the weather conditions of this year. An Armagnac to be savoured in tribute to Léon Lafitte, a man who would have celebrated his centenary enjoying his Armagnac while listening Sir Pavarotti… Like Richard III who gave
“My kingdom for a horse! ”, Léon Lafitte would have given… all his winery to be able to sing with the famous tenor’s voice!
Florence VARAINE
Domaine Boingnères
Le Frèche - 40 240 La Bastide d’Armagnac Tél. :
+33 (0)5 58 44 80 28 armagnaclafitteboingneres@orange.fr
