Massougnes Bonbonne 150 -200 Years Old
We have had this fabulous 150 -200 year old bonbonne for decades; it was given to us by The Comtesse de Bordelaise. She is a direct descendant of the last French Royalty, King Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine and has direct links with the British Royal Family. Although frail, she still lives on the remains of the Massougnes Estate near Aigre.
Once large and famous, the Massougnes estate has diminished considerably in size but over the years we have bought a few bottles of fabulous, historic and rare Massougnes cognacs from the Comtesse. She shared some of their story with us in a handwritten note, translated and summarised thus:
The Massougnes estate is about 400 years old and descendents of the original owner still live there. In 1800, it comprised 180 hectares with 40 – 50 members of staff. All was well until a terrible disease ‘Phylloxera’ destroyed the vines during the 1870s decade and most were never replanted. Instead, the estate took to raising wheat, barley oats, cows and horses. The old bottles of cognac were, however, well looked after. Every ten years the closures (cork & wax) were changed so the cognac remained at its strength of 41% abv. Thanks to this care the bottles of Massougnes cognac, harvested over 200 years ago, have been preserved in accordance with the family motto ‘All heart. All honour’.
Truly, history in a bottle, or in this case a Massougnes Bonbonne.
Delighted to have sold our latest bonbonne of 1882 cognac to Hedonism Wines in Mayfair and, with an asking price of £90k, it was snapped up by one of their customers within 24 hours. Presented in a traditional wicker basket, the bonbonne contains 10 litres of 
A very exciting Christmas present for someone perhaps? This 8 litre bonbonne of Hermitage 1889 Paradis Cognac was sold last week, the asking price was £68,300. A one-off presentation of this superb 1889 cognac is a very rare offering by 
s’ is the French word for ‘paradise’ and in the cognac industry it is used to describe a designated area in the innermost recess of the cellar. Not every cognac house has a ‘Paradis’ but those that exist are steeped in history. Many cognac families select a few of their finest cognacs for storage in the Paradis. The point when a cognac has gained all the benefit it can from the wood depends on many factors but ultimately, it is when the cellar master decides that it has reached its optimum quality. At this stage the cognac is put into glass bonbonnes and sealed so that the generations of gentle maturation in the barrel are preserved. A cognac that has lasted in oak without deterioration for perhaps 60, 70, 80 or even 90 years is going to be good, very good and will have developed the much sought after 
amed our pre-1900 Hermitage Cognac range ‘
We have had an exciting week adding new products to our shelves all of which are nineteenth century cognacs. One is in fact a pre-phylloxera cognac and the others were produced at the time when the louse outbreak was sweeping through France. Two of the cognacs are additions to our Paradis range, and therefore are in extremely limited supply, and the other is a particularly rare bottling from Roullet & Delamain. Enjoy exploring them: