Grosperrin

Jean Grosperrin began working as a distiller in 1981 and operated as a broker in the region during the 1990s; in 1999 he acquired some old barrels and started small-scale bottlings that became the Grosperrin label. In 2004 Guilhem Grosperrin took over the house and expanded the collection; in 2012 the maison moved into 19th-century chais on the Charente quays in Saintes, where selection and maturation of lots continue.

To showcase the terroir and the history of each eau-de-vie: rigorous selection of single lots and vintages, transparency about origin and age, and respect for the natural expression of each harvest without alterations (no blending aimed at 'standardising' the flavour).

Saintes (on the banks of the Charente), within the Cognac appellation area (all six crus of the region)

Operates as a négociant/collector: identifies and purchases small lots or family stocks, completes (when necessary) maturation in its own chais in Saintes and bottles batch by batch. Declared practices include individual monitoring of lots, bottling without chill-filtration and without systematic reduction; the range also includes cuvées produced with historical techniques (e.g. 'Cépages' with separate vinification and distillation for each grape variety).

Traditional distillation in Charentais pot stills (double distillation for most eaux-de-vie); for some historical cuvées a 19th-century-inspired technique is used (e.g. separate vinification and first distillation for individual grape varieties in the 'Cépages' project).

Ageing in casks to obtain the typical expression of each cru; lots are aged and monitored individually in the maison's chais in Saintes; some batches spent long periods in external warehouses before arriving at Grosperrin cellars.