Issue No. 23

Cognac in Cognac
You can’t go to Cognac and not do a tour
and tasting. There are loads of options
including Hennessy, Remy Martin and
Martell. Just check at the tourist office for
details of all that are available in the town
and the surrounding countryside.
One of the best tours is to be had at the
Chateau Royal de Cognac.. It is an
extraordinary visit of a majestic building –
plus there’s a fabulous tasting…
Royal Chateau de Cognac
The Royal Chateau de Cognac overlooks
the Charente river and was originally a 10th
century fortress, designed to stop Norman
invasions. Home to noblemen it was where
one of France’s most celebrated kings,
Francis I was born in 1515. It’s now the
domaine of Baron Otard, whose cognac
house was founded in 1795. The chateau
then was in a state of neglect and the
Baron had it restored and realised that the
thick walls provide exceptional aging
conditions for his eau-de-vie.
Guided tours of the chateau are divided into
two parts, French history and Baron Otard
cognacs. (It's available in several
languages). Tours begin in the historic part
of the chateau, then onto the cellars.
You can smell the cognac as you walk
through the doors of the 12th century rooms
above the cellars.
The castle is wonderfully preserved, you’ll
see the remains of a 12th century hot water
system and the room where King Richard
the Lionheart came to bless the wedding of
his illegitimate son Philip of Cognac. There
are sculptures and engravings, early style
Renaissance rooms – in fact it’s said that
the French Renaissance was born here.
In some rooms there are engravings carved
into the walls by English prisoners which
are fascinating.