Andy Mossack explores the local producers and artisans of southwest France’s Charente region.
Lunch time in Cognac and the Poulpette restaurant was doing a roaring lunchtime trade. Not too difficult really, as it was, as they say in France, somewhat on the bijou side. That said, owners Amandine and Antoine have a strict food rule, serving only fresh produce bought at the market that very day. And, as they also say, when it’s gone, it’s gone.
Luckily for me there was enough left for a memorable lunch and a chat with Andreina from Maison Ferrand who would be my guide to discovering the company’s heritage and a few of the region’s cast of artisanal producers.
Citadelle Gin is one of the hero brands from Maison Ferrand, a relative newcomer to the fine spirits world, but one that has seemingly ruffled the generational feathers of established spirit producers in Cognac courtesy of visionary owner Alexandre Gabriel.
Since launching the boutique business with Ferrand Cognac in 1989, Gabriel has almost single-handedly led the movement for authentic French gins by founding Citadelle Gin in 1996. Born out of a strict AOC rule that Cognac can only be distilled between October and March, Gabriel turned to gin production to utilise his silent copper pot stills for the rest of the year. Finally receiving the green light after five years of negotiations, Maison Ferrand launched Citadelle Gin named after the famous Citadelle Fortress in Dunkirk and proudly claims it is the World’s first craft gin.
Today Maison Ferrand produces award-winning products Cognac Ferrand, Citadelle Gin and Planteray Rum together with Dry Curaçao. But my focus here was the gin and with the news of Citadelle Gin’s new distillery tour winning the World Drinks Award Best Visitor Attraction 2025, I was keen to find out why.
The distillery sits just outside Cognac in Ars, within the glorious 18th century Château de Bonbonnet, a place literally oozing with French aristocratic character. But behind those historic walls lies some world class distilling wizardry, as tour manager Johann told me “Welcome to my cathedral of gin” as we walked around the towering copper stills, some of them dating back over 100 years. They even have their own coppersmith on hand to love and cosset these beauties.
Outside, fields of juniper bushes provide the basic ingredient for gin production, while a smart new orangery incubates different species of mini citrus and fruit trees for flavour experiments. Meanwhile plenty of botanical blending goes on mixing everything from peppercorns and mushrooms to wheat seeds to make Citadelle Gin infusions as flavoursome as possible, even adding the botanicals at different times during distilling to maximise the flavours.
The 90-minute tour climaxes with a serious tasting session in the stunning spice bar. A place where gin literally comes straight out of taps!
It was a tour which fully justified its award-winning status in my opinion, a fascinating glimpse into the wizardry of gin making.
But there are even more tempting nuggets hidden away in the Charente for me to discover other than its famous melons and spirits, as I was well on the way to finding out.
Logis de L’Arceau
I spent the night in the quite lovely Logis de L’Arceau a luxury gîte run by English owners Emma Croutear and Paul Grisdale. This is a wonderful property, with acres of grounds, a pool and terrace, and spacious rooms. The breakfast was a buffet fit for a king, with fresh crusty baguettes, just-baked croissants, fresh fruit and eggs to order. It was a perfectly delightful way to spend the night and I look forward to returning there as soon as possible!
Baume de Bouteville Vinegars
While Cognac is dominated by its famous spirit, perhaps one of the most unusual surprises for me was discovering this artisan balsamic vinegar producer tucked away in the tiny village of Bouteville in the Grande Champagne region of Cognac. With Modena clearly the home of Balsamic, I was intrigued that anyone would even think of taking on such a task.
However, it turns out the Charente limestone terroir is the very same as in Modena so grapes thrive here just as well. Even better, the famed Ugni Blanc grapes used in making Cognac are also perfect for top quality balsamic too. Who knew? It truly is a craft distillery, very much a hands-on job with small copper pots and paddles lying next to a hall stacked with pint sized French oak barrels. The tasting tour is a delight.
Plenty of different varieties to sample, together with some delicious French cheeses. This is an entirely different type of balsamic, less sweet, much more fruity and not as thick as Modena, but perhaps a little more stylish? Beautiful in salads and even oysters. I was smitten.
And speaking of oysters, I was off to the Charente-Maritime coast next.
La Tremblade and David Hervé Oyster Farm
It’s a 90-minute drive from Cognac across country to the coastal town of La Tremblade on the Atlantic nestled between Marennes and Royan. This is a very local resort commune with dense forest, 20 kilometres of beach and dazzling coastal views across the Arvert peninsula.
It’s also the home to the oyster basin of Marennes, famed throughout France for the quality and variety of its oysters. In particular, the oyster farm of David Hervé, a family run business since 1939 and now in its fourth generation run by siblings Salome and Simone Hervé. It’s an impressive business beloved by top chefs with over 70 hectares of oyster ponds producing enough to send 10 tons of oysters all over the world each week.
The highlight of my visit was a tasting of all the varieties they cultivate with Salome on hand to explain the differences in size and texture. Of course, each taste was topped off with a small pour of Citadelle Gin, which paired beautifully and pretty much rounded off my trip.
It was fascinating for me to see how Maison Ferrand has taken on the established Cognac names with such vision and vigour. I have no doubt that fuelled by Alexande Gabriel’s vision and boundless energy there’s a lot more to come.
Watch this space.
Feature pic and Copper stills (c) Stephane Cadoret. All other images (C) Andy Mossack
Tell me more about the Charente Region and Maison Ferrand.
Citadelle Gin, Château de Bonbonnet, 1 Chemin de Bonbonnet, 16130 Ars.
Distillery Tour – €15pp Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Bouteville Balsamic 1 rue Montmorency, 16120 Bouteville, Charente France.
E: contact@bouteville.com T: 05 45 64 92 76
Tasting tours from €5pp
Destination Cognac has more information on the region and the places included above. Nearest airport is Bordeaux
Recommended Restaurants
Poulpette 46 avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, Cognac, 16100, France
Origins Kraft Kitchen and Cocktails 23, rue du Pont Faumet 16100 Cognac.
Le Beach Bistro 2 Avenue de la Cepe, 17390 La Tremblade
T: 05 46 36 06 41 contact@le-grand-chalet.fr
Recommended Stay
Logis de L’Arceau 96 Route du Pont de la Roche, L’Arceau, 17520 Celles, France
T: 00 33 9 71 72 86 60 | 00 33 6 36 46 62 05
Email: stay@gitesdelarceau.com
