The Good & Great Cognac Houses – Prunier

The Prunier family has been shipping cognacs since 1700.  The first member of the Prunier family to start the business was Jean Prunier (1665 – 1732). He was a freeman of the port of La Rochelle, which was the main shipping port for goods on the western coast of France. Jean Prunier was a renowned cognac expert, and living in La Rochelle he had the foresight to watch shippers at the port and was able to create connections with traders (or correspondents as they were called in other countries) and was able to sell their wines and brandies.

The family remained in La Rochelle and Jean was succeeded by his son Gabriel Prunier (1711–1790) and his Grandson, Jean Prunier (1741-1843). They acquired vineyards around the town of St-Jean-de-Angély in the north of the cognac region, but François Prunier (1768-1843), moved to the town of Cognac. He lived in the old quarters by the Charente river in what is now the oldest house in the town. Called the Maison de la Lieutenants or Sheriffs house, it was probably where the mayor of the town would have collected the taxes on the cognac sales from the region.

Alphonse Prunier, who died in 1918, was the last descendent of the Prunier family. She called in her nephew, Jean Burnez, to help running the business and he eventually took over the reins of the firm. He then passed them to Claude Burnez and his sister. Susan Burnez, Claude’s wife, was an English lady from Somerset who inherited the control and management interest for the other family menbers. She retired in 2010 and her Stepson Stéphane now controls the firms and its management.

Prunier have been mainly negoçiants and have specialised in very traditional cognacs, holding good stocks of rare and old cognacs in their warehouse in the town. They also still own the old Maison de la Lieutenants which has become the trade mark of this very old and famous firm.

Brandyclassics stock a wide selection of vintage cognacs from some of the most famous names in Cognac, including Prunier…