Delamain Cognac
Family Cognac since 1762
The Delamain family comes from Saintonge (France – Charente) but it emigrated to London and Ireland in 1625 when Nicholas Delamain was hired as Chef-de-Suite by Henrietta Maria, sister of Louis XIII and future wife of Charles 1st, King of England. As a Protestant he decided not to return to France in particular because of religious persecution and therefore chooses to stay and settle in Britain. Specifically he moved to Ireland and became a Farmer-General.
In 1759 his descendant, James Delamain arrived in France. During his stay in Jarnac he met Marie Ranson. Fell in love with the region and the daughter of merchant Jean-Isaac Ranson, he decided to stay and create in 1762, with his stepfather, a trading company of Cognac. Divisions related to inheritance and the revolutionary period did the house Ranson and Delamain ceased trading at the end of the 18th century.
In 1824 Henry Delamain, grandson of James and his cousins Roullet created the trading Cognac house Delamain & Roullet. In 1920, the company became 100% owned by the Delamain family name ” Roullet ” was taken out.
Today Charles Braastad (DG) and his cousin Patrick Peyrelongue (CEO), represent the ninth generation of the family, leading the Delamain house. Since 1994, they are associated with the Bollinger band, which holds a minority stake.
House Delamain is the only Cognac trading house that sells only XO Cognac, and from exclusive Grande Champagne.
Focus on two cuvées of Delamain Cognac house : “Vesper” and “Réserve de la famille“
” Vesper” meaning “evening” or “the end of the day”, but also ” the evening star“, this name was given as a symbol of the age and respectability of this harmonious Cognac. “The evening star” may also be a nod to a time tasting recommended by Patrick Peyrelongue. Namely this taste Cognac in the late evening around a warm fire and accompanied by a cigar. Besides its packaging share the color code and the cartridge to think of a famous brand of cigar from Havana (Cuba).
The vintage “Reserve de la Famille” is a rare Cognac that has long been reserved for the family and friends of the family. This Cognac comes from an old barrel containing a very old eaux-de-vie considered so “exceptional, so subtle and complex” it was decided to present it as is, without assembly. On the label marked “No. 340-50” refers to the number of the barrel from which the 180 bottles of this wine belong to.
What allows one to discern Delamain Cognacs from other Cognac houses ?
Video Fr & En
“Before we only produce eaux-de-vie XO, high quality and Grande Champagne. We don’t find ourselves on the contract market but every year we enjoy the eaux-de-vie from Grande Champagne winegrowers who are from very beautiful areas and according to the quality we buy to continue aging before we make the connections. So we are not obliged each year to buy the eaux-de-vie from the same grower which allows us to always choose the eaux-de-vie in the best possible quality. Our specification is very strict, our quality control too. Our eaux-de-vie are older than drums ” red ” buy often used to limit the supply of woody and keep notes of fruit.
What also distinguishes our Cognacs is that they are not distilled on the lees to maintain a fresher , more purity and have finer spirits of life . Our Cognacs are fine, elegant, with subtle oak and expressing characteristics typical of the Grande Champagne. We are also one of the few houses that can offer vintage Cognacs. Our stock is strictly controlled by a representative of the National Bureau of Cognac to ensure that our vintage sealed barrels in a cellar double lock, which holds the keys to.
The annual sales volume of Delamain Cognac is minimal compared to those of main Cognac brand but sufficient however to be proudly present the best restaurants in the world brands.” (Charles Braastad and Olivier Jadeau)
Side anecdote :
This week not one but two stories. The first is that the Delamain house always keeps a bottle of each eau-de-vie purchased. A wall of the tasting room is also dedicated to this collection.
The second story is that one day the Delamain family received one of the winners of the Jacques Chardonne literary contest, writer Francois Nourissier. After having visited the buildings, met and exchanged with the Delamain family and he expressed “here is Chardonne“. This is because the heirs Delamain and J. Chardonne have the same taste, describe and design the Cognac.
But the story does not stop there ! F. Nourissier was right beacause Jacques Delamain, who was the brother-in-law of J. Chardonne, took with him the correspondence found in “Le Bonheur de Barbezieux” or “Destinées Sentimentales” …
Thanks to Charles Braastad, Patrick Peyrelongue and Olivier Jadeau for their hospitality.
Jonathan Choukroun Chicheportiche
Maison Delamain
7, rue Jacques & Robert Delamain
BP 16
16200 Jarnac
+33 (0)5.45.81.08.24
