With regards to reputation, the family firm sits upon France’s upper echelon alongside Mouton, Romanée- Conti, Petrus, Roederer, Guigal, Yquem; Laberdolive’s Armagnacs are the ones that get the most press, the ones bought by Onassis and Fernandel, and the ones whom locals regard with critical envy.” Charles Neal.
The History of Laberdolive
The Bas Armagnac Laberdolive have been produced by the négociants Laberdolive family since 1893. They operate the Domaine de Jaurrey, located between the Landes and the Gers in Labastide d Á rmagnac. The cultivated grape varieties are Colombard, Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Bacco. The distillation is carried out with a traditional copper still and the eaux-de- vie are aged in oak pieces made with the wood of the property. Each vintage reflects the specifics of a year and the climatic conditions of a single year of harvest. Clos des Millsimes
The Vineyards
Laberdolive is single-vineyard, vintage-dated Armagnac crafted by one Gascon family for over five generations.
The Armagnac is produced from wine made from their own vineyards (including rare ungrafted, pre-phylloxera folle blanche). It is distilled by hand with an antique wood-fired continuous still and aged in black oak barrels hewn from the estate’s own forests. Laberdolive Armagnac is bottled at cask strength, and only when fully mature, with no addition of coloring or water. “Laberdolive remains a reference in the region and a name that is associated with Armagnac of grand class.” Id. Importer Notes
The legend goes that Nikita Khrushchev once diverted his elaborate and heavily-guarded entourage to visit the distillery to acquire a bottle, and French President Jacques Chirac brought along a Laberdolive 1972 to toast on a state visit to China. These bottles are in all the top restaurants in Europe; David Ridgway, chef- sommelier at La Tour d’Argent in Paris, said that Laberdolive is “considered for a long time to be the benchmark of Armagnac.” Today Laberdolive is managed by Pierre Laberdolive — a reticent and patient man, in complete harmony with his lands, his casks, and his Armagnac. His reputation as a cellarer is known all over France, and the world and his product are often called «The Gold of Armagnac.»
