Le Cognac de Noël is the stunning final chapter in the L’Esprit de Famille series. A unique Petite Champagne eau-de-vie sourced from a single 450-liter cask of Cognac which had been patiently aging in the cellars of Noël and Marie-France Gay since 1994. Although the French translation of Noël is Christmas, and so it seems almost fated that the spiced aromas of this Cognac are so accurately reminiscent of the festive season, this Cognac is in fact named to honor the charming couple of Noël and Marie-France. Noël is the second of five children, and as the first son, he was destined to inherit responsibility for his family’s vineyard, as his father had. However, in the mid-60s a tragic tractor accident meant that Noël had to prematurely step into his role and take charge of the vines and the cattle as a teenager up until the mid-80s.The adversity that Noël faced forged a strong sense of character and he was also lucky enough to meet the love of his life, Marie-France, in 1976. Together, the couple took over ten hectares of Petite Champagne vines in Sainte-Lheurine and Lonzac in 1982 which they farmed until their retirement in 2008. Marie-France and Noël distilled Cognac together using the same method from 1974 until 2008, using a wood and charcoal-burning 20 hectoliter potstill; and this spectacular eau-de-vie is no exception. As life partners, they cared for their family, vineyard, potstill, and cellar tirelessly and wholeheartedly. The couple’s love and attention is demonstrated in this exquisite eau-de-vie which the house of Pasquet selected in December 2019, brought down to its ideal alcoholic degree, and hand-bottled in August 2021.
about the producer:
This cognac house is located in rural Eraville. With a very long tradition of viticulture. In 1970 Jean-Luc Pasquet inherits from his uncle Albert 8 hectares of vineyards in the grande and petite champagne together with a house, the distillery with a 5 hectolitre alambic wood-fired and a cellar with barrels of cognac. In 1977, Jean Luc and his wife founded the brand name Jean-Luc Pasquet. In 1995 they switch to fully organic farming, in 1998 they receive the organic farmer's certificate for this. In 2011, their son Jean takes over the company. Currently, the domain has 15 hectares of vineyards and they distill with an alambic of 20 hectolitres. Jean's wife Amy also works in the business, together they run this beautiful family business with a lot of knowledge and passion. Their hard work and vision make them highly respected today. In addition to their organic range (own distillates), they also create super blends (confluences) and they have a nose for selecting barrels from colleagues, neighbors and friends where they select the pearls from the cellars and bottle them as a single cask. Jean and Amy are heading for a golden future!
