The cream always rises to the top, doesn't it? Despite being a region that is totally dominated by large brands and their enormous marketing budgets, the Tesseron family has succeeded, in just over 15 years, in becoming a genuine benchmark. In a story that mimics that of the top grower-producers in Champagne (vs. the Grandes Marques houses), the remarkable quality and distinctive, vinous style of their predominantly XO-only Cognacs has allowed the Tesseron family to carve out an important niche amongst the giants of the Cognac world.

The rise of this producer has naught to do with advertising or traditional marketing and everything to do with quality. It has certainly helped that the Tesseron family holds one of the largest collections of ancient Cognacs in their legendary 13th century, Paradis cellars—once part of the local abbey. In fact, before they started releasing small batches of Cognac under their own label, the Tesseron family had been a highly reputed supplier of XO Cognacs to the large houses for over a century!

Each of these stunning spirits is perfectly suited to those who appreciate a beautifully crafted, complex and refined dram

The quality of Tesseron’s Cognacs is influenced by a range of key factors including: the high average age of the Cognacs used; the predominant use of fruit grown in the Grande and Petite Champagne Cognac areas (Cognac’s finest terroirs); and the exclusive focus on small-batch production of XO Cognac.

Today these stunning spirits are selected and blended by Tesseron’s master blender, Romain Martial, from the vast collection of ancient reserves the family holds in barrel and glass demijohns. The range now also includes Tesseron’s first non-XO blend, a younger and fruitier style of Cognac designed for the bar trade and lovers of younger amber spirits.

Key points:

• For over a century, Cognac Tesseron has supplied the famous houses of Cognac with XO brandy. These customers include Hennessy, Remy Martin, Martell and Courvoisier.

• Prices are very low compared to most XO Cognacs currently on the market. Even the youngest Cognac in the range (Lot 90 XO) is over 20 years old, yet the price is comparable to much younger VSOP Cognacs.

• The oldest, Lot 29 XO is over 80 years old and is the only Cognac to be rated 100 points by Robert Parker Jr.

• Tesseron only produce wines from their own vineyards (located predominantly in the Grande Champagne area) so they have complete control of quality over the base.

• Tesseron is one of the few remaining growers to have vineyards planted to Colombard (for depth and power) and Folle Blanche (for finesse). Most vineyards in Cognac have today been grafted across to Ugni Blanc which, while easier to grow and distill, produces simpler, less aromatic wines.