La Maison Gautier, more commonly known as Cognac Gautier, is a French cognac distillery. It is part of the
Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits 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 commune has been awarded one flower by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and vil ...
on the Osme river, in
Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...
, when the family obtained a
royal warrant to produce
cognac
Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Cogn ...
and a founding charter signed by King
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), 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 maturity (then defi ...
.
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
Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits.
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
French companies established in 1755