Many people at last week’s Blues Passion festival held in Cognac were privileged to taste a new sensation created by Cognac Tessendier. It’s a “Single Grape” brandy, or rather a “single cepage” eau-de-vie.
‘Monteru’ is literally a brandy created from grapes more commonly associated with wine. Think chardonnay, merlot, riesling and cabernet. Using their incredible cognac making experience, Monteru has been created and is being tested out on consumers in various countries – such as The Netherlands, California and Lithuania – to great success. And soon it will be on its way to France.
Managing Director, Jerome Tessendier, says that the product is not intended to compete with cognac, but rather to be a product that is complementary to cognac. A drink to be enjoyed on the rocks, mixed or straight – however you choose, and just for fun
Marketing of Monteru is just about to commence – and if its popularity in the test countries is anything to go by, then it will appear to have a healthy future ahead. Consumers were positive about at least one of the four varieties made.
Mr Tessendier is concentrating on a niche market for the product – and is working with a three year plan in place before he starts to see realistic revenue from the product.
Sources: www.charentelibre.fr
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2 Comments
Germain-Robin does this in California. They use a lot of Pinot Noir, for example, as well as other local varietals. http://www.germain-robin.com/html/whatwemake.html
I’ve got a bottle of the Select Barrel XO, which uses 80% Pinot Noir, and it’s very nice. If it’s missing anything I’d say it’s some of the depth you get with nice Cognacs. But in trade it offers a very clean and brighter taste than I’ve found in Cognacs. So I say there is plenty of room for other grapes.
I think it would be nice if there were a different name for premium brandies that aren’t from Cognac and/or don’t use the traditional grapes, I guess just because “brandy” reminds me of the cheapo stuff in a jug that you might cook with or dump into a punch or something. Let’s make up a word. How about Vignac? Vin/Wine. Cognac. Vignac.
Good Afternoon Eric
My name is Julien with Fourcade and Hecth Wines Selection and we are the distributor of Monteru for the US market.
Feel free to contact us if you need more information about Monteru.
Best Regards,
Julien