La Maison Gautier, more commonly known as Cognac Gautier, is a French cognac distillery. It is part of the

Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits () is a French wine and spirits producer and distributor. The company was founded in 1991. It is listed on the French stock market, and is a member of the CAC Small 90 index. The recipes of its most famous liquor, "''Ani ...

group. Founded in 1755, it is one of the oldest French cognac manufacturers. The cellars of Maison Gautier were established in an old water mill in

Aigre Aigre () is a commune in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aigrinois'' or ''Aigrinoises'' The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''National Coun ...

on the Osme river, in

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

, when the family obtained a royal warrant to produce

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appellat ...

and a founding charter signed by King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

History

The Gautier family gained fame in the 16th century when they made

casks A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

using wood from the Tronçais forest, famous for the quality of its oaks. In 1644, Charles Gautier married Jacquette Brochet, a winemaker's daughter. From 1700, their grandson, Louis Gautier, developed the trade in cognac. He helped expand the market and contributed to the considerable growth of Maison Gautier. In 1755, the family obtained a royal warrant to produce cognac and a founding charter signed by King Louis XV. Maison Gautier was born, and the winery was installed in the former watermill in Aigre. The heirs of Maison Gautier succeeded each other in turn over 10 generations, developing the family business. In 1995, Gautier joined the group Marie Brizard & Roger International, which was in turn purchased by the Belvedere Group in 2006 and renamed

. In November 2015, a bottle of Gautier cognac, appraised and dated to 1762, was bought at auction for US$59,500 by a group of Polish collectors, who shared this exceptional bottle. It is considered to be the oldest bottle of cognac.

References

External links

* {{official, cognac-gautier.com Cognac