Vin de Pays de The Côtes de Gascogne is the appellation for wine that comes from the same geographical area as Armagnac in Southwest France. Cool Atlantic air rushes into the valley along the Garonne river (to the North) and the Adour River (the the South) and tempers the otherwise very warm summers, creating grapes that have very fresh fruit flavors, and lots of racy acidity.

Domaine des Cassagnoles is a modest estate, with 76 hectares (about 190 acres) of land just west of the town of Condom along the Baise-Darre river. All of the grapes (for the wines and the excellent Armagnac, which isn’t available currently in the US) are made from the estate vineyards. The Proprietors, Gilles Baumann and Janine Cardeillac Baumann took over the estate from Janine’s parents in 1974. Their daughter Laure joined the estate officially in 2002.

This wine is one of four that the Baumanns make from the 9 hectares of Gros Manseng that were planted in the late seventies. It is aged briefly in oak, and the richness from the oak ageing rounds out the zingy fruit of Gros Manseng very nicely. The combination of richness and acidity make this great for an aperitif or with soft cheeses, and it also goes well with roast chicken, white fish of all sorts and simple pork dishes (whithout a lot of spice) or anything with truffles. This wine should drink well from 2008 – 2010 and maybe longer – but there’s no need to wait, drink it now, it’s delicious.