This means that 10 years is the new minimum age of the youngest eau-de-vie in an armagnac blend marked XO and bottled from 1 April 2018.
Although this positioning is common for commercial blends from the Cognac appellation, the BNIA has noted that operators with count six armagnac XO packaged before 1 April may be sold until stocks last.
Marc Darroze, president of the BNIA, said: “It had become essential to bring the reality of the Armagnac maturation and the blends from our operators closer to the denominations.
“Thus, this is a way for all operators to clearly value these Armagnacs which, for the most part, are blends of eaux-de-vie older than 10 years.
“It is also more coherent to offer spirit enthusiasts in France and particularly on the export markets a certain homogeneity in the denominations.”
The minimum age of Armagnac blends correspond to the following designations:
- Aged 1-3 years VS and ***
- Aged 4-9 years VSOP
- Aged 6-9 years Napoleon
- Aged 10+ years XO, Hors d’Age and Vintages.
