OUR STORY
From vine to glass, a creation conceived as a work of art
01 - THE GENESIS
Create using local ingredients
The creation of Cognac begins with a precise geographical selection. This is not the result of chance, but the interaction between a temperate climate and limestone soils.
Six crus have been delimited, each bringing a different creative signature: finesse for Grande Champagne, power for Borderies or strength for Bois ordinaires.
02 - THE HISTORICAL AWAKENING
An invention born of necessity
In the 17th century, the idea of creating a brandy arose from a need for transportation. Dutch merchants "burned" wine so that it would survive the journey.
But the true creative spark came from the Chevalier de la Croix Maron. By inventing double distillation, he no longer sought merely to preserve, but to sublimate.
He creates a nectar where there was only a basic wine.
03 - DISTILLATION
Transforming matter
The creative process involves the Charentais still. It is here that the spirit is separated from the matter: a technical gesture which becomes, in the hands of the distiller, a creative act.
04 - LIVESTOCK FARMING
Marriage with the oak
The creative process continues in the silence of the cellars.
The brandy meets the Limousin or Tronçais oak wood.
It's a slow dialogue , an alchemy that cannot be forced.
Extraction
I
The liquid slowly draws the amber color and tannin from the wood. A visible, gradual transformation that testifies to the passage of time.
II
Oxidation
The air passing through the pores of the barrel transforms the aromas deeply. The woodiness softens, the fruitiness intensifies, and complexity develops.
III
The Angels' Share
This natural evaporation concentrates the flavor. An invisible offering, essential to the final quality. What is lost in volume, is gained in soul.
05 - ASSEMBLY
The Master of the Cellar
This is the purest stage of creation. The Cellar Master acts like a music composer or a perfumer's nose.
He has before him a library of hundreds of eaux-de-vie and must imagine a balance between fruit, flower and spice. Blending different vintages to guarantee that the taste of the House remains eternal, despite the variations of the harvests.
06 - THE DIFFERENT COGNACS
Time as a distinction: The Ages of Cognac
07 - THE SIGNATURE
The apotheosis:
The Centerpiece
Once the eaux-de-vie have been selected and blended into their final form of cognac,
Emmanuel Villier selects the best vintages, then enhances them with a final aging in Puligny-Montrachet barrels, a symbol of the most prized white wines on the planet, which he has named La Pièce Maîtresse.
Making Maison Villier cognac the first cognac with a Burgundian spirit.
