Dartigalongue Dry Cellar
Dartigalongue Dry Cellar is a Bas-Armagnac bottled at 43.4% ABV (86.8 proof) and aged for a minimum of two years in Gascon oak — entirely in the house's dry attic cellar, where summer heat and winter cold concentrate the spirit into a taut, intense style. It is a 750mL bottle from one of Nogaro's oldest Armagnac houses, and it is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 43.4% (86.8 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Age: Minimum 2 years in oak, dry attic cellar
- Appellation: Bas-Armagnac, France
- Grapes: Ugni Blanc, Baco 22A, Folle Blanche
- Distillation: Single distillation in an Armagnacais column still to 58% vol.
- Origin: Nogaro, Bas-Armagnac, France
A Nogaro House with Attics Full of Armagnac
The Dartigalongue family has distilled in the Nogaro region since 1813, and Pascal Dartigalongue founded the first Maison d'Armagnac there in 1838; his son Joseph bought the large Salles d'Armagnac vineyard near Nogaro in 1870. Today the sixth generation — Benoît Hillion, an agronomist who left Paris to settle in Nogaro, working with cellar master Ghislain Laffargue, in the role since 1990 — distills a three-grape blend (Ugni Blanc for fruit, Baco 22A for structure, Folle Blanche for elegance) once through a traditional Armagnacais column still at 58% vol. to preserve maximum aroma, and ages it in Gascon oak from local southwest-France coopers. Dartigalongue is one of the rare Armagnac houses with dry cellars: perched high under the roofs and subject to wide temperature swings, they produce pure, well-defined eaux-de-vie. This bottling comes from the brand's "Armagnac Experience" range — fruity Armagnacs bottled above 40% ABV, built with bartenders in mind. Browse the Dartigalongue collection, the wider Armagnac shelf, and more brandy at Del Mesa.
Tasting Notes
The official brand notes lead with delicate vanilla, plum and peach on the nose; the mouth is very intense and straight, and the finish is marked with spicy notes. The US importer reads it the same way — vanilla, prune and peach aromas, a very intense, concentrated palate, and marked spice on the finish. The extra bottling strength over the standard 40% carries the fruit and spice with unusual clarity for the category.
How to Enjoy
Drink it neat to taste the dry-cellar intensity at full strength, or over a single large cube. The brand itself suggests lengthening it with ginger ale or using it as a cocktail base — its concentration stands up to mixing the way softer Armagnacs don't.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "Dry Cellar" mean in Armagnac? It means the eau-de-vie aged in a dry cellar — typically high under the roofs, with wide temperature variation between summer and winter — rather than a humid ground-level cellar. Dry cellars give pure, taut, well-defined spirits; Dartigalongue is one of the few Armagnac houses that has them.
How old is Dartigalongue Dry Cellar? The youngest Armagnacs in the blend have aged more than a minimum of 2 years in Gascon oak, entirely in the dry attic cellar. It carries no VS, VSOP or XO designation.
What grapes are in Dartigalongue Armagnac? The house blend is Ugni Blanc, Baco 22A and Folle Blanche, single-distilled in a traditional Armagnacais column still.
Is Dry Cellar good in cocktails? Yes — it was created for bartenders as part of the "Armagnac Experience" range: fruity, bottled at 43.4% ABV, and intense enough to hold its own in mixed drinks or with ginger ale.
An intense, dry-cellar Bas-Armagnac at full bottling strength — pick up Dartigalongue Dry Cellar online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.