the birth of a masterpiece
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Otard wearing his Legion d'Honneur.
an exceptional cognac
From an ancient and noble family, Baron Jean-Baptiste Otard started his eaux-de-vie business in 1795. At this time, Baron Otard bought the promising-looking Château de Cognac.
He then partnered with the Dupuy brothers in 1799, who were involved in distilling and storing eaux-de-vie. Together, they founded the Otard-Dupuy Company for the direct export of eaux-de-vie, large stocks of which they owned.
These were troubled times, between the French Revolution and the Empire, and the cognac négociants showed an extraordinary confidence in the future of France, and of cognac. Defying all the odds, their business prospered. We can only imagine how Baron Otard felt when he discovered the atmosphere in the cellars of the Royal Castle and how crucial it would be in ageing his eaux-de-vie. With deep cellars kept moist by the adjacent river, and three-metre thick walls for storing and ageing the cognac, these were the perfect conditions for cognac to age.
The inevitable and only natural evaporation of alcohol during the cognac ageing process is called the Angels' Share. The angels in the Cognac region are some of the luckiest in the world – they collectively drink up to twenty-seven million bottles.
The Lower Vaults Cellar, located by the River Charente, protected by massive walls.
Our Maître de Chai (Cellar Master), Michel Casavecchia, personally oversees the filling of our decanters.
Tasting in a private room of Château de Cognac.
the art of time
Creating cognac is an art that requires patience as much as passion.
For over two hundred years, thanks to Baron Otard, precious eaux-de-vie can be aged deep in the cellars of the Royal Château de Cognac, where they are cared for by our Maître de Chai, and personally selected by him.
Generations of Maîtres de Chai have been carefully looking after these precious eaux-de-vie, giving them the utmost care and attention, ensuring they develop to their full potential.
The smooth, amber essence of our cognac is present in every drop. It is this profile that our Maître de Chai looks for each time he practises his timeless and enduring craft, passed down from generation to generation.
Spider webs often form between the casks, happily protecting the precious wood against parasites.
a nose of genius
The Maître de Chai must have two key qualities: an incomparable nose and an incredible memory.
The nose, for obvious reasons: to monitor the special relationship between eaux-de-vie and oak that will create only the finest cognac.
The memory: to have the vision to be able to recall many years of daily tastings.
An incomparable nose.
Cognac is stored in the Paradise Room, in a dame-jeanne protected by wicker baskets.
royal cellars, beyond compare
La Collection du Roi is the fruit of decades of work reaching the highest levels of excellence. The rarest eaux-de-vie have been carefully kept for generations to craft La Collection du Roi.
Infinite care has been taken to combine these sublime blends, before laying them deep in the Royal Castle cellars to ennoble them. The result is an exquisite collection of cognacs offering refined flavours of unrivalled richness.
There are many cognacs, but only one Château de Cognac. La Collection du Roi is the most distinctive expression of these liquids, aged with the utmost care and reverence in a castle alive with history, legend and closely guarded secrets. La Collection du Roi has the great prerogative to be aged within the walls of one of the oldest castles of France.
