Bas Armagnac 15 years in case

It was in 1817, during the reign of Louis XVIII, that Pascal Dartigalongue was born. Coming from a family of winemakers based in Saint Lannes near Madiran, he spent his childhood in the heart of vineyards surrounded by wine and " Eau-de-Vie " (as at'time it was called Armagnac). In 1838, during the reign of Louis-Philippe, he settled in Nogaro thanks to the 10,000 gold Francs his father gave him from his share of the family business which he had to leave to his elders. His beginnings were hard, but he soon understood that Armagnac was an export product. His Armagnacs, sold in casks, found a market in Belgium, Holland, England and even in the USA. His business thrived and sales prospered when his grandson Joseph took over in 1870. This change saw rapid progression for the house, aided by the creation of the railroads. Export sales of'Armagnac were no longer totally dependent on the port of Bayonne. A few kilometers from Nogaro, caravans were loaded and went as far as the northern European capitals of Rotterdam, Antwerp, London, and Hamburg. Phylloxera arrived in Gers in 1880 and gradually destroyed most of the vineyards of Armagnac. It was a difficult decade for Joseph. In the 1890s, French economy was flourishing: Paris became an important financial center and the consumption of alcohol was never so important. Joseph, whose health was fragile, decided to hand over the company to his two sons André and Henri. In the midst of the "Belle époque", André created an agency to represent the company in Paris, while his younger brother Henri remained in Nogaro to direct the production. This strategy was a great success, as in 1906 vintage DARTIGALONGUE Armagnacs were on the menu at Café de Flore, Edouard VII, Café Riche and many other prestigious and luxurious Parisian hotels. In 1914 André and Henri had to leave for the war and so his father Joseph resumed the management of the house. At the end of the war in 1918, André was seriously wounded and Henri contracted a lung disease that greatly reduced his activity. A very young Pierre, Henri's son, took over the management of the company in 1930. He increased the sale of bottles first in France and then on export markets. In 1936 he was very successful in the United States and traveled regularly on the transatlantic line from Le Harve-New York. He signed a partnership with one of the most important distributors in New York that lasted several decades. After World War II, Pierre continued to develop the U.S. market and also began to address 'Europe with the countries of Belgium, Holland, Sweden and Norway. In the '80s he handed over the reins of the house to his son Jean-Pierre and daughter Françoise. Jean-Pierre developed the European markets (Spain, Italy), then the United States in the early 2000s. Françoise was in charge of structuring sales in France to gourmet wine shops, delicatessens and restaurants, strengthening the image of the DARTIGALONGUE brand at the national level. In 2010, Françoise DARTIGALONGUE, then head of the company, convinced her niece Virginie's husband, Benoit Hillion, to leave his job as an agronomist in Paris to settle in Nogaro and take over the business. Fascinated by the history of the house and by'Françoise's enthusiasm and optimism, Benoit was immediately oriented and galvanized the development of the house. He participated in several trade fairs and found new partners in Japan, Australia, Russia and China. Parallel to and continuing Francoise's work, he also travels around France meeting with clients, wine and spirits merchants and restaurateurs who are growing in their appreciation of DARTIGALONGUE's history.