Tasting Armagnac is firstly an exercise in the history of pleasure and curiosity.

Take a ball shaped glass, which gets nice and warm when you spend long minutes tasting with the glass cupped in your hand; or a tulip shaped glass which concentrates the flavours and allows you to taste more quickly and precisely. Pour some Armagnac into the glass, just 2 or 3 cl is enough, then gentle shake the Armagnac with a circular motion to wet the walls of the glass.

Armagnac should first be tasted with your eyes

The eau-de-vie is shiny, the colour golden, amber or mahogany, which is the logical colour development brought about by ageing.

It will sharpen the curiosity the nose

Before tasting in the mouth, smell the Armagnac gently, with your nose out of the glass and without agitating it so that the aromatic power does not overwhelm you. The first impression is forceful as the alcohol rises; but don't stop there, the Armagnac's treasure lies elsewhere, a few seconds later. The aromas can be categorised in different aromatic families depending on the age and quality of the Armagnac:

• fruity aromas: here you'll find nuances of quince, grape and plum, and then with age, prune, orange or apricot conserve
• floral aromas: vine blossom, honey or lime...
• woody aromas: vanilla, spicy, grilled ... maderization: this is the measure of the Armagnac's maturity, it reveals most notably dry
• fruit aromas: walnuts and hazelnut.
  

The intricacy of the aroma, combining several types of flavour, is itself a gauge of the quality of the Armagnac.

In the mouth, power and unctuousness confront each other

Take a sip, paying attention to the succession of flavours in the mouth. The attack is very subtle, the development warm, before the Armagnac assumes its full place. We speak about its volume, unctuousness, richness, and all terms to describe its structure. The aromatic wealth begins to overcome the sensation of power. Now, you find the same aromatic variety as on the nose with prevalent woody and maderization tones.

When the glass is empty

... don't abandon it, warm it between your hands and smell it: that's what we call the "bottom of the glass"; prune, spices, maderization or woody tones, the quintessence of the Armagnac is in there.