Chateau de Montifaud
Château de Montifaud has been in the Vallet family for six generations. The vineyard was founded by Augustin Vallet in 1837, and in subsequent years it was successively tended by Pierre, Maurice, Louis and Michel. In October 2000, Laurent Vallet joined the family business. According to tradition, when a son takes over his father's business, a portion of the cognac from that vintage is put aside in the cellar for long-term storage, and can only be sold by representatives of the next generation. Thanks to this tradition, in the hidden corners of the castle "paradise" lie bottles of cognac produced by Pierre and Maurice Vallet at the beginning of the 20th century.
The castle cognac is produced exclusively from grapes harvested on its own lands. Currently, the vineyards of Château de Montifaud occupy more than 150 hectares in the two main regions of the Cognac region: Grande and Petite Champagne. The soil of these vineyards consists of loose limestone. The abundance of chalk in the soil plays a particularly important role in shaping the character of the eaux-de-vie (grape distillates) produced here. The Vallet family does not mix spirits from different regions; their cognacs represent either Petit or Grande Champagne.
Thanks to the exceptional characteristics of the soil, Montifaud cognacs have enormous potential. At all stages of cognac creation, the members of the Vallet family apply the family secrets of craftsmanship, which allows them to maximally realize in cognac spirits the characteristics inherent in the grape fruits by nature: floral notes, tenderness and elegance in the aroma, roundness, softness of taste and a long aftertaste. In order to preserve the fruity character of the cognac, it is especially important to harvest healthy berries. The first to be harvested are the Colombard and Folle Blanche varieties, then the Ugni Blanc. The berries are pressed immediately after delivery to the cellar to prevent oxidation. Since 2004, 3 small presses have been used, which reduces the time of feeding and pressing the grapes and, ultimately, prevents oxidation. For the same purpose, the resulting wine is kept on the lees until distillation. These techniques make it possible to avoid the need to add antioxidants to the wine, the fermentation of which is carried out in steel tanks at a temperature of 24-25 degrees, which helps the natural components of the cognac taste to manifest themselves best. The distillation process, which takes several days, is carried out using a traditional Charentais alambic, and is directly and around the clock supervised by Michel or Laurent Vallet themselves. After the first distillation of the wine, the so-called "brouilly" is obtained - a cloudy liquid with a strength of about 30%. It undergoes a second distillation in order to purify and separate into fractions - "head", "heart", "tail" - from which the "heart" is selected - a transparent cognac spirit with a strength of about 70%, the same eaux-de-vie from which the cognac for final consumption will be made.
The barrels for aging are prepared at the stage of selecting the wood, which is stored for three years before being made into a barrel. The Valle family strives to reduce the impact of new oak on their cognacs so as not to kill their fruity character, so aging is carried out under constant control in 350-liter barrels, in order to obtain a distillate with certain expected parameters. Spirits selected for vintage cognacs are sealed in barrels by a representative of the interprofessional council of the Cognac region.
The family cognac from the Montifot castle has earned the recognition of consumers around the world. The Vallet family launches new products every year under the Chateau de Montifaud brand, as well as new lines, such as the Pierre Vallet cognac family, created by the young Laurent Vallet. The owners of the castle regularly visit their distributors in different countries of the world, which contributes to the shortest possible acquaintance of consumers with such a special product as castle cognac.
The castle cognac is produced exclusively from grapes harvested on its own lands. Currently, the vineyards of Château de Montifaud occupy more than 150 hectares in the two main regions of the Cognac region: Grande and Petite Champagne. The soil of these vineyards consists of loose limestone. The abundance of chalk in the soil plays a particularly important role in shaping the character of the eaux-de-vie (grape distillates) produced here. The Vallet family does not mix spirits from different regions; their cognacs represent either Petit or Grande Champagne.
Thanks to the exceptional characteristics of the soil, Montifaud cognacs have enormous potential. At all stages of cognac creation, the members of the Vallet family apply the family secrets of craftsmanship, which allows them to maximally realize in cognac spirits the characteristics inherent in the grape fruits by nature: floral notes, tenderness and elegance in the aroma, roundness, softness of taste and a long aftertaste. In order to preserve the fruity character of the cognac, it is especially important to harvest healthy berries. The first to be harvested are the Colombard and Folle Blanche varieties, then the Ugni Blanc. The berries are pressed immediately after delivery to the cellar to prevent oxidation. Since 2004, 3 small presses have been used, which reduces the time of feeding and pressing the grapes and, ultimately, prevents oxidation. For the same purpose, the resulting wine is kept on the lees until distillation. These techniques make it possible to avoid the need to add antioxidants to the wine, the fermentation of which is carried out in steel tanks at a temperature of 24-25 degrees, which helps the natural components of the cognac taste to manifest themselves best. The distillation process, which takes several days, is carried out using a traditional Charentais alambic, and is directly and around the clock supervised by Michel or Laurent Vallet themselves. After the first distillation of the wine, the so-called "brouilly" is obtained - a cloudy liquid with a strength of about 30%. It undergoes a second distillation in order to purify and separate into fractions - "head", "heart", "tail" - from which the "heart" is selected - a transparent cognac spirit with a strength of about 70%, the same eaux-de-vie from which the cognac for final consumption will be made.
The barrels for aging are prepared at the stage of selecting the wood, which is stored for three years before being made into a barrel. The Valle family strives to reduce the impact of new oak on their cognacs so as not to kill their fruity character, so aging is carried out under constant control in 350-liter barrels, in order to obtain a distillate with certain expected parameters. Spirits selected for vintage cognacs are sealed in barrels by a representative of the interprofessional council of the Cognac region.
The family cognac from the Montifot castle has earned the recognition of consumers around the world. The Vallet family launches new products every year under the Chateau de Montifaud brand, as well as new lines, such as the Pierre Vallet cognac family, created by the young Laurent Vallet. The owners of the castle regularly visit their distributors in different countries of the world, which contributes to the shortest possible acquaintance of consumers with such a special product as castle cognac.
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