Cognac Richard Delisle

For a whole six generations, i.e. since 1686, the Cabanne family has been producing Cognac in the Charente area.

During the Second World War, production was set back significantly among the distilleries in France. The Carbanne and Mitterand families decided to work closely together to avoid losses during the war years.

At the end of the war, the Mitterand family wanted to thank the Carbanne family and named the distillery Richard Delisle.

The Mitterand family is very well known in France through Francois Mitterand as President of France from 1981 to 1995. He was born and buried in Charente.

In 1999, the 6th generation of the Alexis Cabanne family decided to set up their own wine and spirits business under the name Hawkins Distribution.

Today, the great know-how of manufacturing, production and distribution means that Hawkins Distribution can meet the requirements of prestigious customers all over the world.

The family has carefully preserved treasures so that today they own one of the oldest certified cognacs in the world.

In addition to the beautiful XO and VSOP, Ludvig Bjørn has fantastic vintage Delisle cognac from 1965 and 1975.

Distillation and production of Cognac

Cognac from the Carbanne family is made with the Ugni Blanc grape variety. The family owns 80 ha of vineyards (the vines are on average 30 years old) and are located in the prestigious "cru" appellations Petite Champagne and Fins Bois.

The grapes are harvested in October and then fermented into an acidic base wine. The wine is then distilled twice in the family's distillery, which includes 15 stills (distillation plants). This process is very delicate and must be done slowly and carefully.

Alexis Carbanne sticks to the old production methods and is made according to historical principles.

Storage of Cognac

Aging takes place in oak barrels, which release flavors and tannins on contact with Eaux de Vie and change color from clear to dark amber. The oak casks are stored in wine cellars located close to the Charente river. Moisture and water vapor from the river lead to better storage.

High-quality cognac ages in casks for many years. Through this storage process, a phenomenon called "Le part des anges", i.e. the angels' share, which is the natural evaporation that takes place through barrel ageing.

Blending

The last step in the production is blending or the mixture from different casks and from different vintages. In this process, experience and knowledge of traditions are very important. All cognac must contain an alcohol strength of at least 40%, but since Eaux de Vies after distillation has a much higher alcohol strength, Alexis Carbanne must reduce this in a difficult and slow process.