Gascony in the Middle Ages
1310: Vital Dufour and the 40 Virtues of Armagnac
The oldest known evidence of brandy in France is usually said to be a 1310 text: Vital Dufour, prior of Eauze in Gascony, praised in it 40 virtues of “aygue ardente,” the burning water that Armagnac traces its roots back to today.
Who Was Vital Dufour?
Eauze is a small town in today's Gers department and is considered the capital of Armagnac. At the start of the 14th century, Vital Dufour served there as prior, the head of a religious community. According to the Armagnac trade association, he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Clement V in 1313. So he wasn't a master distiller, but an educated clergyman who wrote down what people of his time believed they knew about the distillate.
His text is essentially titled as a very useful book for maintaining health and staying in good condition. The trade association states that the manuscript has been kept in the Vatican archives since the 14th century. The official specifications of today's Armagnac appellation—the official rulebook for the designation of origin—also reference the text: Maître Vital Dufour is said to describe in it the 40 virtues of “aygue ardente.”
What Does the 1310 Text Say?
The 40 virtues aren't tasting notes but medical promises. According to the Armagnac trade association, the burning water, drunk in moderation, was supposed to cure liver ailments and banish headaches, especially those caused by a cold. The text is aimed at people who want to stay healthy, and treats the distillate like a remedy straight from the apothecary.
Such claims reflect the knowledge of their time. Medieval medicine thought in terms of heat and cold, of humors and their balance. A remedy that warmed the body and burned on the tongue seemed to help against ailments linked to cold. Today we know that alcohol damages the liver and cures no disease. The 1310 text is therefore a document of medical history, not a guide to follow.
Still, it's valuable for the history of distilling. It shows that a wine distillate existed in Gascony at the start of the 14th century, that it had its own name, and that scholars wrote about it. Anyone who reads today on a bottle or in a brochure about seven hundred years of Armagnac is referring to precisely this text. It does not, however, prove an unbroken line to today's product.
It's also important to note what the text does not prove. It describes a distillate and its supposed effects, but reveals nothing about stills, grape varieties, or aging. Nobody knows whether the distillate of that time resembled today's Armagnac. The official specifications cite the text as a description; the claim that it is the oldest evidence in France is a common classification that relies on secondary sources.
Why Did Distilling Start Early in Gascony?
Gascony lies in the hinterland of Bordeaux, which had consequences for the wine trade. The official specifications of Armagnac cite the “Privilège de Bordeaux” of 1373: wine from the hinterland could only be shipped through the port of Bordeaux after Christmas. This meant producers around Bordeaux reached the market first. A distillate, by contrast, keeps for a long time, takes up less space, and doesn't lose value by waiting.
Later, Dutch merchants became major buyers; the specifications mention them for the 17th and 18th centuries. They bought spirits for northern Europe, just as they did along the Charente. How Armagnac came to use its distinctive distillation method, the column still, is told in the section on the industrialization of distilling.
From Medical Text to Protected Designation of Origin
Armagnac only became legally defined centuries later. A decree of May 25, 1909, delineated the region and its three subzones: Bas-Armagnac, Armagnac-Ténarèze, and Haut-Armagnac. Today the appellation covers communes in the Gers, Landes, and Lot-et-Garonne departments. Ten grape varieties are permitted, including Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, Colombard, and Baco Blanc. So around six hundred years separate the medical text from the protected name.
To understand Armagnac today, it helps to compare it with its neighbor Cognac. Both are French wine distillates with protected designations of origin, and both age in oak. Cognac, however, is distilled twice in a pot still, while Armagnac is mostly distilled once, continuously, in a column still. Armagnac requires at least one year in oak, Cognac two. You can read more about both in the encyclopedia entry on Cognac and Armagnac.