Delord Bas-Armagnac XO 'Premium' (25-40 yrs old) 42% 700ml

Prosper Delord began as a travelling distiller — a common nineteenth-century role in Gascony, where farmers brought their wine to a mobile copper still that moved between villages each winter. In 1893 Prosper established the Delord distillery in Lannepax, in the Bas-Armagnac sub-appellation of the Armagnac AOC. His sons Gaston and Georges expanded the operation into a producer-trader business, Delord Frères, gradually building export distribution that took the house's Bas-Armagnacs to the United States from the early twentieth century. The house has remained family-owned across four generations since.

Lannepax sits at the centre of the Bas-Armagnac sub-appellation, which is recognised as the source of the most cellar-worthy Armagnac eaux-de-vie. The Delord style is classical: Folle Blanche, Ugni Blanc and Colombard distilled in continuous-column Armagnac stills, then aged in Gascon black oak (a regional specificity vs. Limousin or Tronçais) for periods ranging from short standard ages through to deep vintage stocks. The cellar holds vintages stretching back to the early twentieth century — the family's reputation rests heavily on the breadth of its vintage cellar.

Jacques Delord took over in 1963, joined by his brother Pierre a decade later; the third generation built the modern range structure. Sylvain and Jérôme Delord assumed operations in 2001, with one focused on production and the other on commercial side. In 2020 the brothers acquired the historic Galaubas estate — an ancestral Delord property — and launched the house's first organic Bas-Armagnac production. The current range covers age-tier blends (Napoléon, XO, Hors d'Âge, 25 Ans) and a deep vintage line, with releases from 1900s into recent years.