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Le Cognac de Christian L.88
Single estate, single cask cognac
A cognac of extraordinary complexity designed for sipping
500ml – 54,1% vol.
Le cognac de christian
IDENTITY RECORD
Growth Area
Petite champagne
Number of casks
1
ABV
54,1%
Contains
500ml
Grape variety
Ugni Blanc
Number of bottles
Lot
L.88
AROMATIC PROFILE
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Flavors
Structure
Citrus
Flowers
Spices
Fruit
Wood
Attack
Complexity
Sweetness
Length
THE STORY
We selected this small and less than full barrel from Christian Meslier in Châteauneuf-sur-Charente.
When Jean first met Christian this past year, he was simply looking for a plow for the vines but when wine-growers get together, they invariably discuss wine-growing. One thing led to another, and Jean discovered what a conscientious vintner Christian is and has been since 1983, when he took over from his father.
The Meslier family has been distilling on their property, which has been in their family since before the French Revolution, for at least three generations. Christian’s father and grandfather both had cows on the farm, but today, Christian is passionate about making cognac. His two pot stills, one 18.5 hectoliters installed so long ago that Christian does not know exactly when it was and the other 25 hectoliter added in the early 1970s, transform his Petite Champagne and Fins Bois wine into eau-de-vie.
In fact, both sides of Christian’s family were winegrowers. His mother, Marcelle, hailed from Bonneuil, a small town in Grande Champagne just outside of Châteauneuf. Because her family could not take her to school everyday, she was housed in the Sainte-Marthe girls’ school dormitories until the Charente was annexed by Germany in 1940. At that date, the school became the German headquarters in town.
The Pasquet family had not always been producers of cognac. Jean-Luc’s father, Raymond Pasquet, made wooden cases to ship our local “liquor of the gods” around the world. Their large and welcoming home was located in the center of Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, next to the school for girls. Raymond and Georgette Pasquet decided to take in the entire school, classes and dormitories, when the Sainte-Marthe buildings were confiscated.
At that time, Marcelle Merceron lived with the three Pasquet children, Jacotte, Marie-Simone, and Bernard, for the duration of the war. Jacotte and Marcelle became lifelong friends thanks to the time they spent living together in childhood.
To her marriage, Marcelle brought some eaux-de-vie from her family’s property. Unfortunately, for us, Baptiste Loiseau from Rémy Martin recently selected them to become a part of the Louis XIII blend, but thankfully, there are still some beautiful Petite Champagne cognacs in his cellars.
We tasted eleven barrels of one lot housed in a dry cellar high on a hill, and eight of another, in a humid cellar in the valley, and found among them, one smaller barrel, which was not full. Its flavor was unique and exceptional and we knew then that it must be a ‘trésor de famille’.
The 2018 harvest, which Jean and Christian discussed at length as we selected this eau-de-vie from thirty years before, resembled its predecessor. Christian remembers his 1988 battle with mildew nearly as well as the 2018 one.
2019, the year of bottling for this “Cognac de Christian”, which was distilled more than thirty years ago is the year Christian and his wife and partner at the property, Agnès, are set to become grandparents for the first time. So the story continues. Both Christian and his brother, Claude, continue their family’s legacy today, working neighboring vineyards. We are certain that the beautiful eaux-de-vie will keep coming from their distillery.
OTHER COGNACS
IN THE TRÉSORS DE FAMILLE RANGE
