[Visiting] Chateau Beaulon

01.Dec.2016

We visited a chateau which produce both cognac and pineau in Cognac.

This chateau produce their spirits from their own grapes. : Bouilleur de cru

From good wine, you can make good Cognac. Therefore, you should take care of quality of wine as well.

Beautiful decorations

Distillation equipment.

They have 4 pots: 2 smaller pots (1500L) and 2 bigger pots (2500L)

They will start the first distillation the evening, so one of the pot was heated.

 

The right photos is about "Chapeau" 

 

Left one is onion, this is for preheating. 

The wine comes from chapeau and when it stays at onion, it is preheated very slowly.

After all the distillation process, you will get only 350L (a barrel) from usage of 4000L of wine.

Therefore, it means that the cost of Cognac production is very expensive.

All this distillation process takes 3 months. It has to be finishes at the end of March (beginning of April).

They use only ugni blanc. (Monocepage)

At least 3 years, cognac is stored in oak barrel. 

On the bottom, there are bigger barrels.

We tasted a little cognac with 70% of alcohol.

less than 10 years cognac is stored in new barrels.

Pineau des charentes (Blanc) : Fortified wine

We tasted 10 years. 

 

Pineaux des charentes 10 years Red

I prefer this.

 

Cognac

I prefer armagnac actually.