{"id":32128,"date":"2025-10-02T11:46:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T09:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/?p=32128"},"modified":"2025-10-02T12:51:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T10:51:13","slug":"janneau-vsop-grand-armagnac-won-silver-medal-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/news\/janneau-vsop-grand-armagnac-won-silver-medal-2\/","title":{"rendered":"JANNEAU XXO : The Forbidden Armagnac that Wins Gold and Redefines the Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"l-section wpb_row height_medium\"><div class=\"l-section-h i-cf\"><div class=\"g-cols vc_row via_flex valign_top type_default stacking_default\"><div class=\"vc_col-sm-12 wpb_column vc_column_container\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><time class=\"w-post-elm post_date entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-10-02T11:46:34+02:00\">10\/02\/2025<\/time><div class=\"wpb_text_column\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><p>In London, at the prestigious International Spirits Challenge (ISC), Janneau XXO Armagnac has just won the 2025 Best Armagnac in the World Trophy. This extremely rare distinction was awarded after blind tastings by an international panel of experts. And it\u2019s not the first time: Janneau XXO had already earned a double gold medal at the ISC in 2024 and 2025. The accumulation speaks for itself: this bottle, despite not having an official designation, is now establishing itself as a global reference.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"w-image align_none\"><div class=\"w-image-h\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-1024x1024.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"janneau xxo m\u00e9dailles\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-200x200.png 200w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-50x50.png 50w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-400x400.png 400w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-250x250.png 250w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-600x600.png 600w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-900x900.png 900w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-800x800.png 800w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-30x30.png 30w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-700x700.png 700w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/JANNEAU-XXO-Medailles-e1759397543648.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wpb_text_column\"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><p><strong>The XXO does not officially exist in Armagnac. And that\u2019s exactly what makes this recognition so explosive.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>VSOP, XO, XXO: The End of Fixed Age Statements<\/strong><br \/>\nIn the world of spirits, VSOP and XO are familiar benchmarks. They guarantee a minimum aging period: 4 years for VSOP, 10 years for XO. But beyond XO, no generic designation exists. Producers can only rely on specific \u201cage statements\u201d: 15 years, 20 years, 25 years.<\/p>\n<p>This logic is now outdated. Except for vintage releases, consumers are no longer seeking a fixed age\u2014they want assurance of quality and rarity. An Armagnac doesn\u2019t need a number to be exceptional; it needs coherence, depth, and personality.<\/p>\n<p>This is precisely what XXO offers: a minimum aging guarantee of 14 years, and the freedom to combine eaux-de-vie up to 28 years old. The designation becomes a promise of richness and prestige, without the rigidity of fixed age statements.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Difference Between a VSOP and a XXO<\/strong><br \/>\nA VSOP, no matter how noble, remains reproducible over a master blender\u2019s career. Every four years, it can be recreated consistently. The XXO, however, cannot be reproduced. It is born from a unique assembly of rare lots, matured in cellars for decades. When these eaux-de-vie are gone, the blend is gone too.<\/p>\n<p>This is what makes Janneau XXO truly exceptional: a snapshot of history, impossible to replicate, shaped by time and the talent of the men and women who have guided Janneau\u2019s eaux-de-vie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Face, a Voice: The Cellar Master<\/strong><br \/>\nAt the helm of the cellars, Micol Meo embodies the union of tradition and audacity. She chooses, blends, and balances, claiming the subjectivity, emotion, and instinct that no machine can replace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cXXO is a collective achievement,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt is the voice of everyone who, for decades, has worked the vineyard, distilled, and aged these Armagnacs. But it is also an act of freedom: showing that Armagnac can go beyond its own codes and rise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Janneau Method: Two Distillations to Reveal the Terroir<\/strong><br \/>\nSince 1851, Maison Janneau has been a pillar of Armagnac. Its signature lies in the rare combination of single Armagnac distillation and double Charente distillation. These complementary approaches create eaux-de-vie of exceptional aromatic richness. Single distillation delivers intensity and depth, while double distillation provides finesse and precision. The combination produces a complexity in which each lot expresses the best of the Gascon terroir.<\/p>\n<p>Here, no cut is left to software. Everything is decided by eye, nose, and palate. This artisanal, \u201cold-school\u201d approach gives Janneau XXO its nobility and identity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Armagnac for Sharing and Pleasure<\/strong><br \/>\nJanneau XXO is not a museum piece. It is not meant to sleep forever in a barrel or cellar. It is meant to be drunk, shared, and savored, offering exceptional moments of pleasure. Its notes of candied fruit, spices, and noble wood pair beautifully with a fine cigar, making it a rare tasting companion for both solemn occasions and hedonistic enjoyment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And Now?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe accumulation of awards\u2014two double gold medals and the ISC Best Armagnac trophy\u2014makes Janneau XXO more than an exceptional bottle. It is a signal for the entire Armagnac sector. XXO represents the liberation from old constraints, the recognition of the richness of aged eaux-de-vie, and the possibility for Armagnac to reinvent itself.<\/p>\n<p>The new generation is returning to the craft. Small producers are innovating. Consumers are demanding transparency, prestige, and authentic stories. XXO fits perfectly within this dynamic. It proves that Armagnac is not frozen in history, but capable of reinventing itself with style.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Forbidden Armagnac that Writes the Future<\/strong><br \/>\nAn Armagnac outside official classification has been recognized as the best in the world. This is not an anomaly\u2014it\u2019s a gentle revolution. It does not follow the rules; it paves the way. Janneau XXO is reinventing Armagnac.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"w-btn-wrapper align_center\"><a class=\"w-btn us-btn-style_1\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PRESS-RELEASE-ISC-TROPHY-JANNEAU.pdf\"><span class=\"w-btn-label\">UPLOAD THE PDF<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"10\/02\/2025In London, at the prestigious International Spirits Challenge (ISC), Janneau XXO Armagnac has just won the 2025 Best Armagnac in the World Trophy. This extremely rare distinction was awarded after blind tastings by an international panel of experts. And it\u2019s not the first time: Janneau XXO had already earned a double gold medal at the...","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":32129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32128"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32174,"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32128\/revisions\/32174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.armagnac-janneau.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}