COGNAC ❘ CITY FOCUS
FIVE MUST-SEE SITES IN COGNAC
From famous eau-de-vie houses to river cruises to delightful historic streets, there’s plenty to see and do in Cognac…
VISIT THE HISTORIC COGNAC HOUSES There are hundreds of them, from household names to small, lesser-known houses. Bache Gabrielsen and the G&C Raby estate, for example, both offer fascinating tours and tastings.
STROLL IN THE OLD TOWN Cognac’s historic centre is as charming as they come. Grab a map from the tourist offi ce (in French and English) to locate the historic highlights, stopping in at Saint- Léger church, the covered market, and the local speciality shops along the way.
TAKE A CRUISE LA DEMOISELLE Two delightful captains point out the major sights as you meander down the beautiful Charente, taking in the best views of the city’s famous Cognac houses and its 10th-century château and beyond. This is a relaxing moment out of time.
ENJOY A COGNAC COCKTAIL On the banks of the Charente, Bar Luciole is a chic spot to sample more than 200 Cognacs, while Indigo, on the rooftop of the legendary Martell Cognac house, offers the best panoramas of the city and the vineyards beyond.
This image and below: The Charente river fl owing through Cognac; the
picturesque old streets with the bell tower of Saint-Léger Church in the background
THE COGNAC FESTIVAL Held every July for the last 20 years, the Fête du Cognac highlights all the local deliciousness, with tastings of Pineau de Charente fortifi ed wine and, of course, Cognac, accompanied by gastronomic specialities and live music.
as long as it’s in the barrel, and for Bache Gabrielsen’s most rarefi ed blends, Bergier draws from nectars dating back to the founding of the house in 1906.
Descending into the dank, dark subterranean cellars rendered even duskier by the black mould that populates the walls and casks, my guide at Baron Otard, set in Cognac’s picturesque medieval château, leads me to paradise. That’s the name for the inner sanctum of every Cognac house where the oldest elixirs are stored in giant oblong glass bonbonnes nestled in straw baskets, some dating as far back as the mid-19th-century. Unlike fi ne wines, which continue to age in the bottle, Cognac’s ageing process ceases once the liquor is in glass. I’m invited to sample a ten-year-old Cognac ready for bottling. But I hardly need a taste: the 40 to 70 per cent alcoholic fumes emanating from nectars ageing in hundreds of stacked oak barrels is heady enough. “La part des anges,” – the angel’s share – she explains, the roughly three per cent of evaporated eau-de-vie sacrifi ced to the air, representing about 34m bottles a year. A staggering number, but given that 212m bottles were shipped globally in 2022, and many millions more are stored
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IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK, J LADONNE, COGNAC TOURISME, THEO SCHUMAN, FÊTE DU COGNAC/FACEBOOK, MARTELL
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