Ténarèze is the middle of the three Armagnac districts, the band of country around Condom and Montréal-du-Gers between Bas-Armagnac to the west and Haut-Armagnac to the east. Where Bas-Armagnac has acid sand, Ténarèze has clay and limestone, heavier and more fertile, and the spirit it produces reflects that: firmer, more structured, harder when young and generally reckoned to need longer in oak before it comes round.

Much of the brandy sold as Armagnac is a blend of the two districts, with Ténarèze providing the backbone. Ugni Blanc dominates the planting, with Colombard, Folle Blanche and Baco, and the wine is distilled in the continuous column still of the region, usually in winter, often by a distiller who tows the still from farm to farm. The name itself is old, from a Roman road that ran along the watershed, and the district is dotted with fortified bastide villages from the thirteenth century.