Cognac Tesseron
Cognac Tesseron specializes in high-end cognacs. As their marketing slogan suggests, they only produce “XO and Beyond”, so cognacs from the XO age onwards. From their ancestral home Domaine Tesseron in Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, which lies between Cognac and Angoulême, the Tesseron family traditionally used to sell its eaux-de-vie to the large cognac houses. But in 2003 they decided to release a range under their own family name. The Tesseron’s are also active in wine production, owning Château Pontet-Canet – a Pauillac classified property producing Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux wine.
Alfred Tesseron is the third generation of Tesseron men with deep roots in the truest tradition of cognac and wine. From his father, Guy Tesseron, he inherited the gift of creating cognacs of great style and elegance. Having spent his youth in France, Alfred Tesseron, worked in America for a leading US distributor before joining, and then participatetom make of the one most successful Grand Crus in Paulliac, Medoc.
All three traditional Cognac grape varieties Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard are still grown on the Tesseron estates. Folle Blanche and Colombard have almost disappeared in the region as they are difficult to grow and produce small crops, but they are important as they add an extra dimension to the final blend. The grapes are gathered during the long, warm, sunny days of early autumn and fermented to make a low strength, acidic wine of around 8% volume. The distillation is tightly controlled from the 1st of October through to the 31st of March of the following year. The Tesseron cognacs are double distilled in gleaming copper 'pot' stills heated by a naked flame. Only the 'heart' of the distillation is selected for maturation into Cognac.
The cool, damp Tesseron cellars dating back to the 13th century were once part of the crypt of the local church. It is here that the young 'eaux-de-vie' will be laid to rest, left in peace quietly to age and mature in old oak casks for many years. These casks were made by craftsmen from ancient oaks felled in the nearby forests of Limousin. During maturation the ageing Cognac will gently oxidize, soft tannins will be absorbed from the old oak casks and some will evaporate and be lost forever – the 'angels' share.
Blending: The 'maître de chai' knows the character of each cask of Cognac as if they were his children. Each will be different with its own individual personality, even though the 'eaux-de-vies' may be distilled from identical grape varieties on the same day. Blending is a great skill, an art, which like great Cognac takes many years to develop. Tesseron Cognacs have great complexity and depth as the 'maître de chai' creates a subtle blend of three grape varieties: Ugni Blanc for roundness, Folle Blanche for finesse and Colombard for strength and depth. Each variety and cask will lend a special nuance for the final blend.
