NEW: Access-All-Areas Cognac: A 2 Night Trip | 14 - 16 September
Join drinks editor Jonathan Ray for a very special triple-A 48 hours in Cognac, as we go behind the scenes at four of the finest producers and staying in a delightful 17th-century town house hotel in Jarnac.
We ask you to make your own way there, after which we will take over, ensuring that you have a memorable, cognac-fuelled, Spectator-spangled time.
For those who choose to fly, we will meet the early morning BA flight from Gatwick to Bordeaux-Mérignac with a luxury coach and make our way straight to Restaurant Le Gueuleton in Segonzac, the official heart of the Grande Champagne appellation.
In the afternoon we will stroll to Cointreau-family-owned Frapin for a post-prandial visit and tasting.
We then check into the boutique, ten-room Hotel Ligaro in Jarnac, with ample time to wander about this charming riverside town, before heading to the glorious, 200-year-old, family-owned House of Delamain for cocktails and a buffet supper in their garden.
The following morning, we will visit Thomas Hine & Co for a tasting and buffet lunch, before taking our luxury coach to Hennessy in the town of Cognac. The visit will include a boat ride across the River Charente to Hennessy’s bankside cellars.
In the evening, we will return to Delamain in Jarnac for a private, after-hours tour, visit and tasting. This will include a sensorial journey through the Maison’s various cellars and will include tastings of the Single Cask, Crypt and Vintage Cognacs at various stages of their maturation.
This will be followed by a Bollinger champagne reception in the Delamain garden and dinner in their cellars – home to the Maison’s oldest Grande Champagne cognacs – the specially created menu based around Delamain’s Limited Edition, Single Cask Pléiade cognacs, including the hors d’âge L’Oiseau Rare. The evening will conclude with cigars and cognac nightcaps in the garden of the Hotel Ligaro.
For those flying back to the UK, there will be a coach transfer the following morning to Bordeaux airport in time for the 11.45am BA flight to Gatwick.
Our drinks editor, stout-hearted chap that he is, has visited all four of these Maisons and has worked hard to bring this itinerary together. It promises to be a fabulous trip. Do join us!
Costs include accommodation, all meals and tastings plus transfers to and from Bordeaux-Mérignac airport and between Jarnac and Cognac.
£1,600 per person / £200 single supplement
Prices are per person, based on the shared occupancy of a twin/double room. Supplement for single occupancy as shown. Includes all meals, transfers, tastings etc
Limited to a group of 14.
Contact Chloe on csmith@spectator.co.uk for more information and to book
