Esilda and Maximen Fontan received Château du Maubet as a wedding gift, and for several generations, it served as a general purpose farm before Aline and Jean-Claude Fontan decided to make the property exclusively a wine-producing estate. The Fontan family became one of the first families in Gascony to bottle their own wine, rather than distilling it all to produce Armagnac. Today, Aline and Jean-Claude’s children Nadège and Sylvain are carrying on the tradition. Their work distills the noble qualities of this region, producing high-quality Armagnac from the prestigious Appellation Contrôlée “Bas-Armagnac” region. Their Armagnac is made with the greatest of care respecting the traditional and authentic skills from Gascony. Wines of Baco and Ugni Blanc are carefully distilled in the estate’s cellar still and aged in oak barrels.

The VSOP Armagnac from Fontan is a blend of Ugni Blanc barrels with a minimum age of five years. The VSOP sits in the glass a deep amber color with golden hue. Aromas of bananas Foster and crème brûlée tantalize the olfactory senses and give, not-so-subtle, hints of what is to come. Those flavors are reinforced on the palate with notes of dried tropical fruit and cocoa-dusted caramel that are underlain with touches of sandalwood and merengue. There is freshness in the lengthy finish that gives flashes of its youth, but its rustic charm is undeniable.