A visit to Cognac producer Henri Mounier

Everyone in South Africa knows the big names: Hennessy, Martell, Remy Martin, Courvoisier, Bisquit etc.

but there is another in the top ten who doesn't get much product to our shores:

H.Mounier, who produce several top end Cognacs, including Prince Hubert de Polignac and Cognac Hardy

We were lucky enough to be given an introduction to the CEO Christophe Juarez, who invited us to pay him a visit

The very subtle entrance to the Mounier offices in a little street

We were welcomed and taken through the winery

 a forest of huge stainless steel tanks of wine

for brandy and Pineau

The cold stabilisation room - at -5°C

In the laboratory with the Master distiller (maître de chai), Mickaël Bouilly

New 500 litre oak casks being delivered

and plenty of older casks full of product

 in large warehouses

Mickaël Bouilly and the warehouse manager with Christophe Juarez

They also use large oak vats for Pineau

every cask is numbered and catalogued, insisted upon by the taxman

all this is in the modern facility outside the city

A black mould, similar to that in the cellars of Tokai can be found on the walls

We are used to seeing forests of steel tanks, but not these numbers of very large oak vats which are used for the Pineau
(30% brandy 70% sweet grape juice)

Our French is fairly rudimentary, Mickaël's English even more so,
but we followed his information, helped by Christophe's translation

Samples in the lab - the colour deepens with age

No added colouring is used

Sample bottles in the lab

Bottled Cognacs in the tasting room

  but, first, we went into PARADISE, which is what they call their Library Cellar

full of very old casks and demijohns

with examples of Cognacs going back to the mid nineteenth century

and very old barrels for reference

The best, but not the oldest, that we tasted from the barrel was the 1935

They were all in a league far beyond anything we had ever tasted before

The oldest in this tasting was the 1914, made by women - the men had gone off to war
Society changed, with hardship, but for the better

more ancient demijohns

Tasting the Prince Hubert de Polignac XO Extra

Then back to the lab for a last look

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John & Lynne's second day in France - a visit to Cognac

 After a very good French breakfast, with huge cups of good coffee, made by Claudy, our landlady

 we set off into the countryside

 to a small distillery, P.Boussuet, who make good Pineau de Charentes and a cognac

 We were preceded by a large group of French farmers, who were tasting and buying

 attended by the Bossuet family, headed by Grandpère

 The rules for membership of the Charentes Producers' Association

 Delphine, who attended to us and spoke good English

 A good selections of their products including the renowned local salts

 On our way out, having bought an aged Pineau, we met a local farmer and his dog

 Stainless steel tanks outdoors, much like many of our co-ops

 French shutters are painted in beautiful pastels, walls are usually unpainted

 Then off to Cognac, where we visited an outdoor market

 Everything is fresh and very well displayed. These eggs were delicious

 Unusual fish, so fresh you expect it to flap about

 Tomatoes, as we never see them, and in perfect, unflawed condition, with an aroma that hits you from metres away

and beautiful cherries

 Local farming folk - we see very few smokers on this visit

 Wonderful cheeses

 Cockles

 langoustines

 and beautiful fresh strawberries 

We drove into the centre of Cognac

where we found an indoor market, open six days a week

with more wonderful fresh produce

 

Rabbits and ducks

 Patés

and pies 

 and more wonderful vegetables

 We bought this magnificent brie, it was delicious

 A rather enviable house in central Cognac

 and a rather awful lunch at Flunch - the ham was good, the chips too, but the fish uneatable

 Amazing hams at Auchan hypermarket

 and a good cheese display

 Then the highlight of our day, a visit to Cognac producer Henri Mounier - more in the following blog

After which, on our way home, we passed this sign and  

 had to visit

 They were closing, but we had a look at the products

 including this extravagant bottle of Louis XIII XO

which was surpassed only by this Jeroboam - a snip at €30000 

 Then home to Chérac

 where we shared a bottle of Life from Stone with our friends - it was cold and our French purchases luke warm, but it was excellent and they loved it

After which we ate our supper under the gazebo

 and enjoyed the landscape

 and watched the passing traffic

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013