I had the wonderful opportunity to live in France for four years, and during that time, my wife and I were able to see a great deal of that country. Of all the traveling we did, my favorite trips were to the cognac region. From 1992 to 1995, I made 12 trips there, always accompanied by my wife, and always for the same purpose; sample and buy cognac from the small producers. Of course, there were the tours of the large houses, shopping in the towns, and wonderful meals, but those were secondary to the cognac experiences. Up until the time that I moved to Paris, I probably had drunk less than a bottle of cognac/brandy in my entire life.

When I moved back to the US in 1995, I brought back my collection of cognac and armagnac, as well as nearly 40 books on cognac that I had acquired in France and England. I legally imported the spirits into the United States, going through my state revenue department and paying taxes prior to shipping my treasured bottles back to my home state. I also declared them on the customs forms that accompanied my household goods back home. I had worked too hard and spent too much money to lose all of it. I would like to share some of my experiences with you.

From what I can recall, my first trip to the region was in October of 1992, about 4 months after moving to Paris. I had tasted cognac at some of the nicer restaurants in Paris, and found that I actually liked it better than other spirits that I enjoyed before. One day while browsing through the wine books at W. H. Smith on rue de Rivoli in Paris, I picked up a copy of Nicholas Faith’s "Guide to Cognac and Other Brandies", and I was hooked. For those of you not familiar with this book, Mr. Faith’s book covers some history on the region, production, and definitions, but most importantly, he lists many producers of cognac. This listing is complete with addresses, phone numbers, products available, and personal comments by the producers.

Armed with "The Book", I proceeded to map out a trip to the region, identifying all the producers I wanted to visit. I proudly announced to my wife that we would be leaving on a Sunday, drive to Cognac and stay a week. I think it is important to note that my wife is not nearly as fervent a taster as I am when it comes to cognac, so she could serve as my driver if the need arose.

My next step was to get out my trusty Michelin red guide, and find a hotel there. In the guide there are not a lot of choices, and I liked the description of Les Pigeons Blanc. I called the hotel and made reservations with no problem; my French was not too good at that time, but thank goodness the owners spoke English.

We set out on Sunday morning for the 5 hour drive from Paris to Cognac. It was a beautiful drive, in spite of being autoroute virtually the whole way. About 30 minutes before leaving the autoroute, we pulled in to a rest area which I would describe as a welcome station for cognac. They sell all types of local products there, including breads, cookies, cassoulet, and, of course, cognac. I bought several bottles after recognizing the brands in "The Book". My first purchases were VSOP, which I thought was pretty fine stuff. Little did I realize at the time that there were much finer cognacs, and worth the price. That will be a subject of a future column.

We arrived at Les Pigeons Blanc late Sunday afternoon, and immediately realized that I had made a good choice for the hotel. The hotel is a former 17th century stagecoach inn, and quite charming. We toted our bags up to our room, and ate a dinner of cheese, baguette, and wine while sitting on the bed. For dessert we ate half of the bag of delicious coconut macaroons that we had purchased at the welcome center. Not bad for a guy who had grown up in central Ohio. We were in Cognac.

The next morning I was up early, looking at my road map trying to figure out how to find the producers that I planned to visit. Since all French towns have a local tourist office, I thought that we should begin there. We drove about 2 minutes into the center of town, parked the car, and followed the signs to the tourist office. Inside the office there are displays related to cognac production, posters, and pamphlets of regional places to visit, eat, and shop. The office will arrange tours at the large producers for a small fee. I decided that we should go and visit one of the Big Four before any other exploring, and the lady called and made an appointment for us at Rémy Martin.

As we were leaving the tourist office, I noticed La Cognatheque across the street. For those not familiar with the town, La Cognatheque is a retail store that carries hundreds of different bottles of cognacs, from about 50 francs to 10,000 francs. I bought a bottle of Cognac Audry, but I resisted the urge to buy more until I could visit the producers. A visit to Cognac is incomplete without visiting this store.

Then we were off to Segonzac, about a 15 minutes drive from Cognac as I remember. Our first stop was at Pierre Ferrand. What a kind man. In typical American fashion, I had not called to make an appointment, but merely drove up and knocked on the door. My French was terrible, and Monsieur Ferrand spoke no English, yet my wife and I spent 2 hours talking with him. He took us to his chai, and disappeared back into the darkness of the Paradis for a few minutes. He emerged holding two glasses of cognac. This was still in barrel, and had been there for 40 or 50 years. It was magic, and I realized what fine cognac could be. Monsieur Ferrand hugged my wife, charmed her, and invited us to his tasting room. We tasted several different ages, and I was ready to buy a VSOP or XO for around 300 francs. But Monsieur Ferrand wanted us to try his oldest cognac before we made our selection. My wife tasted it, and immediately said it was the one she wanted. I thought it was wonderful myself, and said we would take it. I then was informed that the price was 1200 francs. What could I do; my wife liked it and I did not want to disappoint her. As we drove out of the courtyard, I thought to myself that this Pierre Ferrand was a shrewd businessman.

Our next stop was Cognac Croizet, just a couple kilometers up the road in Saint-Même-les-Carrières. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a wonderful lady, Mary Rullier. Although we, once again, arrived unannounced, Mme Rullier quickly organized a little tasting for us. Croizet is one of the few cognac producers that is permitted to label single vintages. I bought several bottles, including a bottle of Les Reserve des Heritiers, which contains cognac from the 1890s. And there was to be more special tasting arranged by Mme Rullier in the future. I’ll share the results with you in the next issues.

After Cognac Croizet, we decided we had had a complete day and returned to Les Pigeons Blanc and a wonderful dinner. You must have coffee after the meal so you get to sample the wonderful chocolate truffles, which are made on premises.

The only negative thing I can remember from this trip was the deadly silence at night. I had been used to going to sleep with the sound of shutters clanging and motorbikes roaring all hours of the night in Paris. Other than an occasional dog barking, the silence of Cognac was eerie.

Over the next several days, we visited Camus, Cognac Frapin, Dudognon, and Raymond Ragnaud. Returning to Paris with a dozen bottles of cognac in my trunk, I remember already planning my next trip to the region.

In future letters, I will cover Parisian shops that carry some fine cognacs, a wonderful restaurant in the region, my love for 2 particular brands of cognac, the hospitality of Camus, the generosity of Moyet, Cognac Frapin and my pleasant visit to their facility in Segonzac, a couple other places to eat, another neat place to stay in Jarnac, cognacs available in the US, and some observations on cognac in the US.

I am in the process of planning a tour of the region in the fall of 1998 for 6 couples. If you would be interested in a wonderful week in the cognac region, please get in touch with me.

I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings. I have certainly enjoyed sharing some of my memories with you. Comments are always welcomed in my email.  

22 March 2001