Château de Lacquy is a good example of a Gascony family estate making Armagnac and also active in other crops such as wheat and vegetables.
The château was built in 1777 on the same place where the former seignorial manor once stood. Changes were made in 1910 with the addition of the north and south wings.
The current winery, built in 1876 to age the Armagnac, is a very traditional construction built with stone and wood and roofed with terra cotta tiles. It had replaced an older winery that is shown on the maps of the estate drawn in 1825. Every aspect of the winery contributes to the ideal conditions for ageing Armagnac. The thickness of the walls, the narrow windows, the floor of beaten earth, the insulation provided by the wood-framed attic and the tiled roof, the shade that surrounds it, and the natural ventilation all ensure constant humidity and very small temperature variations which are conducive to ageing Armagnac.
The grounds surrounding the château are highly typical of the old homes in Les Landes, and are primarily comprised of oak. At Lacquy, some oak trees date from the reign of King Louis XV. Wild animals abound, for the estate, far from noise and pollution, is a veritable game reserve that is carefully protected. In winter time, thousands of wood pigeon (palombe) make their home here, and it is not uncommon to see hare, wild boar, badgers deer and the common genet move about freely in the woods.
All of this means that the estate vineyards, dedicated to the production of Armagnac, thrive in an exceptional, well-preserved setting of ecological biodiversity.
