It was with a sense of disbelief that we stumbled across this extraordinary library of old French treasures dating back to 1888. The producers used to supply the big names (Hennessy, Martel, Courvoisier) but have decided to launch their own brands. We begged and they allowed us access to all their stocks of cognacs and vintage armagnacs slumbering in barrels in their cellars. Pricing is super sharp and destined to increase. Cognac and Armagnac are both French brandies made from white wine grapes. Unsurprisingly, Cognac is made in Cognac and Armagnac is made in Armagnac, in the Gascony region. While the two carry similarities, they also have some differences. Both Cognac and Armagnac are made from a shockingly undrinkable wine. However, Cognac typically only uses the Ugni Blanc grape, while Armagnac uses three additional grape varietals: Folle blanche, Colombard, and Baco Blanc. This thin wine is then distilled for both brandies; Cognac goes through two rounds of distillation in pot stills, while Armagnac only goes through one in a column still. The 2 cognacs we have are very different in style, starting with the superb La Truffe , average age 30 years, to the stunning Trophy winning 34 year old Club Cigar (our personal top pick, incredible value). The armagnacs are assemblages of XO of various ages 25, 30 , 40 through to the 50 year old Doyen d'Age. Gift box packaging. And then we have the vintages....almost every year from 1888 to 1996. We have not listed them all so if you need a year that is not showing please contact us for availability and price. These are all beautifully individually gift boxed with glass stoppers. Great gift ideas for anyone with a special birthday, anniversary or commemoration on the horizon.