Armagnac 1984

What is a 1984 vintage armagnac?

On a bottle of armagnac, the vintage is the year the grapes were picked. A 1984 vintage armagnac thus contains a single harvest, with no mixing with younger or older brandies. Where a VSOP or an XO seeks consistency from one year to the next through blending, the vintage keeps the trace of a precise harvest and the style of each estate.

In Gascony, winegrowers start from a dry white wine made from four grape varieties: ugni blanc, baco, folle blanche and colombard. This wine is distilled during the winter in the armagnac still, which works continuously. The brandy that comes out, as clear as water, goes into oak casks. In the cellar, year after year, it acquires its patina: the wood gives it its amber hue, vanilla and spices, while time softens its heat.

Worth knowing before you buy: armagnac stops ageing once in the bottle. The bottling date, when the house provides it, therefore indicates the real length of ageing. At Castarède, the 1984 spent 36 years in cask before being bottled in 2020.

1984, Les Bleus crowned European champions and a new television channel

In 1984, the French football team won the European Championship, its first major international title. On 4 November, Canal+ began broadcasting and became the first private pay television channel in France. At the same time, in Bas-Armagnac and Ténarèze, the estates were harvesting, distilling and filling casks, in true Gascon tradition, with the harvest that fills the bottles on this page today.

Our 1984 armagnac bottles, estate by estate

Seven Gascon houses, seven ways of reading the 1984 harvest. Here is what each of them says about it:

• Armagnac Delord, a Lannepax house founded in 1893: a 1984 at 40% ABV, in 70 cl and 150 cl magnum, elegant with dried flowers, tobacco and nutmeg, rich on the palate with spices and verbena, and a delicate tobacco finish;
• Château de Laubade, in Sorbets: a 1984 at 40% ABV, made from the four grape varieties of the appellation, aged in 420 litre Gascon oak casks, with vanilla and delicate oak, between power and softness;
• Dartigalongue, a Nogaro house since 1838: a 1984 at 42% ABV, fine and distinguished on the nose, between candied lemon and dried flowers, long on the palate with candied fruit, and a rancio finish;
• Armagnac Castarède, a house founded in 1832: a 1984 at 40% ABV, with a lively, vibrant nose of vanilla oak, soft and unctuous on the palate with dried prune and spices;
• Baron de Sigognac, at Château de Bordeneuve: a 1984 at 40% ABV, from ugni blanc and baco, powerful with cocoa and liquorice, rich and supple on the palate, with a finish of currant and vanilla;
• Domaine de Pellehaut, in Montréal-du-Gers, in Ténarèze: a brut de fût at 41% ABV, 100% ugni blanc, aged in 400 litre barrels, with vanilla and liquorice on a background of caramel, and a cocoa bean finish;
• Jean Cavé, a distiller and ageing house in Lannepax since 1883: a 1984 at 43.4% ABV, bottled at its natural strength, without reduction.

These two bottles at natural strength can also be found in our selection of brut de fût armagnacs. Prefer apples to grapes? A 1984 calvados from Charles de Granville, with aromas of candied citrus and cinnamon, completes the page.

Tasting notes for 1984 armagnac

More than forty years in cask produce mature brandies that keep their liveliness. The nose of our 1984s suggests in turn prune, candied lemon, dried flowers, nutmeg and cocoa; the palate moves towards liquorice, vanilla, raisin, spices and caramel, sometimes with a touch of rancio on the finish. The versions at 40% ABV remain soft and round; the Dartigalongue at 42% ABV and the natural strengths of Pellehaut and Jean Cavé bring more relief.

To enjoy it, serve it at room temperature in a tulip glass, without ice. Give it a few minutes of air, warm the glass in the palm of your hand, then taste in small sips. At the end of a meal, it goes well with dark chocolate, a walnut tart or a cigar.

Giving a 1984 armagnac for a birthday

In 2026, you celebrate your 42nd birthday if you were born in 1984, and couples married that year celebrate their 42nd wedding anniversary; the 50th will follow in 2034. A brandy harvested and distilled in the very year of the birth or the wedding is a meaningful gift, to open on the evening of the celebration or to keep for later. The Delord magnum is for sharing with others; the 70 cl bottle, in a case or a gift box depending on the estate, remains the most frequent choice.

How to choose your 1984 armagnac

Start from the character you are looking for. An old armagnac reduced to 40% ABV offers a complex bouquet and great roundness; a brandy left at its natural strength keeps more aromatic intensity. Then look at the terroir: most of our 1984s are Bas-Armagnacs, aged in the heart of Bas-Armagnac, while the Pellehaut comes from the clay and limestone slopes of Ténarèze. The grape variety also plays a part: pure ugni blanc at Pellehaut, four grape varieties together at Laubade. Finally, think about the size and presentation, 70 cl bottle or magnum, in a case or a gift box depending on the vineyard. For a connoisseur adding to a collection, a vintage at natural strength will please; for a first discovery, a round, vanilla-rich 1984 will be easier. Our customer service will gladly answer your questions before you order.

Storing your 1984 armagnac

Store the bottle upright, away from light and temperature swings, so that the alcohol does not attack the cork. As long as it is unopened, it keeps for years without losing its qualities. Once opened, allow several months; when the level drops a lot, finish it without too much delay.

Frequently asked questions about 1984 armagnac

What is the best 1984 armagnac?

There is no best 1984 armagnac in absolute terms. For roundness, look at Castarède, Laubade or Sigognac; for floral finesse, Delord or Dartigalongue; for an unreduced brandy, Pellehaut and Jean Cavé.

What types of 1984 armagnac are available?

Bas-Armagnacs reduced to 40 or 42% ABV, two brut de fût bottlings (including a Ténarèze armagnac), in 70 cl bottles and 150 cl magnums.

How much do 1984 armagnacs cost?

Prices vary with the house, the bottle size and the bottling method, reduced or not. Each product page shows its price.

How do I buy a 1984 armagnac online?

Choose your bottle at Plaisirs de Gascogne, an online wine and spirits merchant specialising in vintage armagnac: the bottles come from the Gascon estates, payment is secure and delivery is available in France and across Europe, in protective packaging.

For neighbouring years, see the 1983 armagnac and the 1985 armagnac, or browse all our vintage armagnacs.

Please enjoy responsibly. Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to health.