Tesseron – Cognac’s Liquid Treasure

“… anything this smooth, silky, potent, and aromatic, is truly great stuff. It is about as ethereal Cognac as anyone could ever hope to drink.” 100 points. Robert Parker (writing about Lot No. 29, October 2005).

“Tesseron Lot 29 will prove just how conclusively great brandy, like great wine, can absorb, modulate and reflect a kind of mineral beauty in the midst of all its other, more freshly sensual attractions…” Andrew Jefford, Financial Times, 2004.

“These (Cognacs) not only excite spirit experts, they also appeal to wine drinkers due to their complexity, subtlety and depth of flavour,” Max Allen, the Australian ‘Wish’ Magazine, April 2008.

In a region that is totally dominated by large brands (Hennessy et al control a remarkable 80% of the world market for Cognac) and their enormous marketing budgets, it can be hard for the artisanal producers to make any noise. And yet, thanks to the remarkable quality and distinctive style of their XO Cognacs, the Tesseron family are slowly alerting the wine world of the glories they have to offer. Although probably being best known as the owners of Chateau Pontet Canet in Bordeaux, it was in Cognac that the Tesserons first became renowned. In fact for over a century, the Tesseron family were very well known in the Cognac region for two things: firstly as a supplier of superb, pale coloured, pure and highly aromatic Cognacs to the famous houses, including Hennessy, Remy Martin, Martell, Hine and Courvoisier, etc, and, secondly, as having one of the largest single collections of ancient XO Cognacs going back some 175 years. Yet the association between the Tesseron name and Cognac was never made outside the region as the Tesseron family sold their wines exclusively to the big houses. Only in 2003 did they finally begin releasing some of their... learn more