Spirits/Armagnac/Château de Pellehaut
Château de Pellehaut
Château de Pellehaut is located in the center of Armagnac, where the terrain sees a slight rise in altitude as well as a shift from the sand of the Bas-Armagnac to clay and limestone of the Ténarèze. With additional nutrients and better water retention, the Ténarèze has soil much better adapted to the production of quality table wine. This is the area where Côtes de Gascogne wines hail, whose citrus fruit and zippy acidity have made them huge sellers around the world.
Pellehaut sits at the top of a hill at 180 meters altitude overlooking the quaint village of Monteal-du-Gers. In fact, the name Pellehaut comes from the Roman pila haut or high point. The château itself, constructed in the 18th century, faces the Pyrénées which, although 90 kilometers away, can be majestically seen in the distance on a clear day.
In addition to making a wide range of fantastic table wines, the Beraut family has established themselves as the premier Armagnac producer in the Ténarèze, with fabulous cask strength bottlings going back to the early 70s. The Pellehaut estate covers 550 hectares, many of which are planted with grains, sunflowers or used as grazing grounds for their herd of Blonde d’Aquitaine cows, whose compost helps to limit synthetic fertilizers. Vines now cover 250 hectares on several different types of soil, including mixtures of clay and limestone along with sand interspersed with small limestone pieces. For their armagnacs, they only use grapes grown on the parcels covered with primarily sand, helping to give their spirits unusual finesse for the region.
Until 1996, Pellehaut’s armagnacs were made with solely Ugni Blanc. Beginning in 1997, a transition was made to make their armagnacs with pure Folle Blanche. It was this year when I first tasted the armagnacs with Mathieu Beraut. At that time his father Gaston was in charge of the domaine, but Mathieu, having studied at Chateau Beycheville in Bordeaux and doing an internship at Au Bon Climat in Santa Barbara, had aspirations to become the best winemaker in Southwest France.
Back then, however, the Berauts had little reason to bottle their wines, as they worked with several negociants who purchased large lots of wine and sold them with other labels, in France and abroad. The winery, stocked with scores of 10,000 liter tanks, were full at the beginning of October and empty by the end of the summer. They were paid well for their bulk wine, and enjoyed not having the complications that come with bottling—like the cost of supplies or having to get out in the market and hustle to sell the product.
When father Gaston retired, Mathieu and his brother Martin took the reins, with Mathieu as winemaker and maître de chai and Martin in charge of the vineyards. They began bottling more of their wine, while retaining their close relationships with negociants.
Today their sales are in the top five of Côtes de Gascogne producers, available in nearly every department of France as well as many countries around the world. With 19 full time employees, brokers working around France and other countries, Pellehaut has become one of the Côtes de Gascogne’s more important and recognizable wine domaines. 
When I first visited the in 1997, the Armagnac chai was in a small building off to the side of the château. Since that time they have purchased the property and buildings of Docteur Gabriel, located just down the slope from Pellehaut. The armagnacs, now looked after by Laurent Agostini and Emilie Maimir, are aged, blended and bottled in this building, certainly facilitating logistics by having all the spirits under one roof.
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The chateau’s wine is distilled by Patrick Michalouski in one of his traveling column stills in November, exiting at 54% alcohol. Afterwards it goes into new 420 liter oak barrels fabricated by the region’s top cooper Gilles Bartholomo. Spirits are left to age at their natural strength without the addition of any water. In addition to a large array of vintages, Pellehaut also releases a couple of excellent blends, including a multi-vintage Reserve and younger Selection, specifically appealing in cocktails.
Because of the higher clay and limestone content, spirits in the Ténarèze, tend to more rigid at the beginning of their lives, unlike those in the Bas-Armagnac which are softer and fruitier. That being said, Ténarèze spirits usually age better than those from the Bas-Armagnac, perhaps because of their denser initial structure. Pellehaut’s armagnacs defy this principle, however, namely because their folle blanche is planted on sandier soils that help produce a round, supple spirit. With excellent terroir, annual investment in new oak barrels, and someone in charge of monitoring and aerating barrels, it is no surprise that Pellehaut’s armagnacs stand as number one in the Ténarèze.
Château de Pellehaut - Ugni Blanc 1983
Château de Pellehaut - Folle Blanche 1996
Château de Pellehaut - Reserve
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