The Castarède 1960 is the flagship vintage of the maison's current release programme: and rested in French oak for six full decades. 40% volume, Limited release. ÉLEVAGE: distilled from the four classic Bas-Armagnac varietals, Baco, Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, Colombard, through a continuous Armagnac alembic, then placed into new Gascon oak for the first phase of extraction. Transferred over the decades into older wood for slow integration; the final years are spent in glass demijohns to halt the cellar evolution at peak. The result is the classic vintage Armagnac signature: rancio, depth, integrated power. SERVING: a tulip glass at room temperature, neat. The bottle is a meditation pour, intended for the rare evening rather than the regular shelf. At the table it pairs with bittersweet dark chocolate, candied chestnut, blue cheese with quince paste, or a long-aged Dominican corojo cigar where the wrapper's tobacco depth meets the spirit's rancio. A single drop of cool water can lift the candied-fruit dimension, but this Armagnac was suited to stillness and time, not adjustment.
Tasting notes
Deep mahogany, auburn highlights.
Striking intensity, candied date, pecan tart, salted-caramel chocolate, roasted muscat, classic rancio after decades.
Seductive, silky, vital, fruit cake, gentle spices, rancio, fine tannins, creamy texture.
Long, creamy, briefly succulent, then baking spices, coffee, lingering rancio.
France's oldest registered Armagnac trading house, founded in 1832 at Pont de Bordes by a family ennobled by Louis XVIII in 1818, with land purchased in Bas-Armagnac alongside Baron Haussmann, then Deputy of Nérac.Six generations on, Florence Castarède directs the maison from the original cellars; the historic stocks include vintages stretching from the early 20th century to the present.The Castarède signature is the staged élevage, new oak first for extraction, older wood for slow integration, and a refusal to release vintages until they have settled into themselves.
Discover Armagnac Castarède, house founded in 1832
