Clés des Ducs is located in the Gers department of France in the village of Panjas. The Lord of Panjas, Paul Baylac, began distilling in 1774. The estate was created in 1924 with the purchase of vines from one of his descendants. The business was bought by Cointreau in 1981 and then by the Armanoir group in 2008. The house’‘s Armagnacs are all produced from the Ugni Blanc grape variety. The estate favours gentle distillation and moderate wood influence, with the spirit spending just three to four months in new oak casks to prevent the wood from dominating and to allow the spirit’‘s intrinsic qualities to be expressed.

A Clés des Ducs VSOP Armagnac. VSOP, which stands for Very Special Old Pale, means the spirit has been aged in oak for at least four years. Clés des Ducs is known for producing Armagnac with a subtle wood influence, preferring to allow the expression of the spirit’’s aromas. Armagnac is mainly produced from Ugni Blanc grapes. Clés des Ducs was founded in 1865 by a Monsieur Gratteau, a herbalist known for inventing the liqueur Izarra. The estate was originally named Clos des Ducs, but, as French law required the presence of an enclosed plot (“clos”) to use the term, was renamed Clés des Ducs in 1962.