Baron de Sigognac VSOP Bas-Armagnac – 70cl

Armagnac is the older of France's two great grape brandies and, for reasons that have more to do with marketing than quality, the cheaper one. Baron de Sigognac is a good place to find out what that gap actually buys you. This is Bas-Armagnac — the westernmost and generally finest of the three sub-regions, where sandy soils give a softer, fruitier spirit than the firmer stuff from Tenareze.

The Guasch family have been in Gascony since the twelfth century and have owned the chateau at Bordeneuve since 1974. Jean-Claude and Thomas, father and son, handle the growing, the vinification and the distillation between them. Where Cognac is distilled twice, Armagnac goes through a continuous column still once, at lower strength, which is why it keeps so much more of the grape.

The maturation is the part worth knowing. VSOP legally needs four years; this one takes six months in new oak to pick up structure and spice, then close to seven years in older casks where it rounds out. That is a long way past the minimum.

The nose is generous and immediately inviting — dried apricot, plum and sultana, with baking spices behind. The palate follows with caramelised peach and toffee apple, more dried apricot, then creamy vanilla and a light floral lift. It closes on toffee and ground nutmeg, warm rather than hot, and lingers longer than the price suggests it should.

At £40 this is one of the genuinely good-value bottles in the after-dinner category. It does not need the occasion a Cognac at twice the money would demand.

How to Serve

Neat at room temperature in a tulip or a small copita — not a balloon, which scatters the aromatics. No ice. If you want it longer, it makes a very good substitute for Cognac in a Sidecar or a Vieux Carre.

Where to Drink It

Dukes Bar in St James's, where a digestif is treated as a proper course. Boisdale of Belgravia, late, with a cigar. The Wolseley for a glass at the end of a long dinner.

Food Pairings

Roast duck or guinea fowl if you're drinking it at the table. Afterwards, a wedge of aged Comte or a slice of prune and armagnac tart — the classic Gascon move, and it works for a reason.