The Domaine d'Ognoas owns the oldest still in Gascony. Brandy production, and thus distillation, has been recorded in Ognoas since the 1780s.
The first documents referring to the actual still date from 1830.
The Ognoas stillwas built at the very beginning of the 19th century using the technique of continuous distillation and taking advantage of the scientific discoveries made at the end of the Age of Enlightenment.
Since it was first built, it has never stopped working and has accumulated modifications and technical innovations in successive layers.
This means that it is not only the oldest working still in Gascony but also a priceless testimony to the history of brandy distillation.
Every year, this wood-fired still heats some 800 hectolitres of wine which, once distilled, provide150 hectolitres of Armagnacthat will then be aged for at least 10 years and no more than 40 years in the estate’s oak barrels.
In 1841, 43 new copper plates were purchased for the Archimedes’ screw, or screw pump.
This mechanism is still in place.
In the second half of the 19th century, it was improved by means of a mechanism attributed to the Sier family: the “spider’s legs” plates which allow the “sparging” of the alcohol vapours and heated wine 
