About
The Beau family is one of the oldest Bouilleurs de Cru – artisanal cognac distillers – in Segonzac, the heart of Cognac’s first growth, known as Grande Champagne region. Samuel Beau started distilling in 1895, bottling and selling part of his cognacs under his own name, which at the time was quite unusual. By 1914 following both of Samuel’s death and the beginning of World War I, Samuel’s son, Paul, took over the family business. While he kept distilling, he decided to stop bottling the family’s eaux de vie. 1977 saw rebirth of this activity: the Beau family, meticulously taking care of its Grande Champagne estate, have since then kept bottling their cognacs under Maison Paul Beau brand as homage to the ancestors. The majority of the vineyard is planted to the Ugni Blanc grape, with a fraction of Colombard grown.
Beau harvests in October, fermenting with indigenous yeasts in temperature controlled vats for about 10 days. The wine is distilled in a red copper “charentais” pot still, with very few lees. The heart of second distillation is extracted at 19°C. The “Secondes de distillation” are re-distilled with the next batch of wine. The resulting eau de vie rests in refurbished “fauts roux” (3 years old or more) casks, some equipped with a new wooden top, bottom, and new staves.
Paul Beau Lignee de Samuel Grande Champagne Cognac is the oldest cognac, released by Maison Beau. The spirit was distilled in the early 1950s, and matured until September 2014, making Paul Beau Lignee de Samuel Grande Champagne Cognac bottling a 50+ year cognac! A a singular release from Paul Beau, who received the Excellence Prize at the Paris Agriculture Show in 2010 and the Concours Generale Agricole in 2012, for outstanding quality and consistency.
Paul Beau Lignee de Samuel Grande Champagne Cognac is un chillfiltered, natural color, no additives, no boise.
Tasting Notes
NOSE: Leather, tobacco and Brazilian nuts.
PALATE: Dried fruit, figs, almonds, hazelnuts and prunes.
FINISH: Long, oak, honey, peach.