COGNAC PARK, THE GENESIS

A family business created in 1880 by Gaston Tessendier, the Distillery is today composed of an estate of more than 25 hectares of the heart of one of the most exclusive growing areas of Cognac: The Borderies.

Fourth generation Master Blenders, Lilian and Jérôme Tessendier, compose their blends of eaux-de-vie, which thanks to an attention to detail and an inflexibility which is the trademark of the entire team, will become the PARK collection with an inimitable style that is pure, delicate and complex.

 

 

 

 

 

The signature of these creations, PARK offers a wide range of prestigious, traditional cognacs, that venture beyond classical frontiers by proposing totally innovative cognacs, with a delicate contemporary twist “Innovation, while simultaneously protecting our ancestral know-how, this is our objective” recalls Jérôme Tessendier.

Just like the latest creation of the company, Cognac PARK Borderies MIZUNARA, the first product of the series and the very first Cognac to be finished in un-used casks of Japanese Mizunara oak barrels.

 

A family history

From 1880, Gaston Tessendier tended the family vineyards located in the prestigious growing area of Borderies with his sole ambition being the elaboration of outstanding eaux-de-vie.

Single-mindedly, Gaston learnt the work of the vines. Once at the head of the estate, his son took over and initiated the art of distillation and ageing. Each generation has passed on this know-how, and allowed the 4th generation of the Tessendier family to perfectly master the art of blending and to become “Creators of Cognac”.

Dominic Park, of Scottish origin, with an intrepid and visionary character, discovered the land of Cognac and wanted to create an exclusive Cognac, bearing his name.

In 1993 Jérôme Tessendier and Dominic Park collaborated to produce Cognac PARK. At the request of Dominic Park, Jérôme Tessendier created tailor made blends and elaborated the first PARK range. Insisting on the use of fine and complex qualities, they became the pioneers of “made to measure” cognacs that would later be known as craft cognacs.

In 2008 Dominic PARK passed on his torch; the Tessendier Distillery became the owner of Cognac PARK.

Over the years, the generations have continued to enhance the craftsmanship, the quality and the exclusiveness of the eaux-de-vie elaborated by Lilian and Jérôme Tessendier, who, together represent the fourth generation of Master Blenders.

 

Cognac PARK, The know-how

Everything begins in the vineyards of the Tessendier Estate and with the selected wine producers. From the vines the October harvest, by machine, the white grapes of the Ugni Blanc variety, coming for the best growing areas, Petite Champagne, Grande Champagne, Fins bois and The Borderies. It will be conducive to obtaining a wine that is both fruity and fresh and which will be, in the family distillery found in Jarnac, twice distilled in large copper pot stills, to obtain an eau-de-vie of the highest possible quality.

The distiller’s nose is the expertise that makes all the difference and that will make its mark on the eaux-de-vie. The moment chosen to cut or “coupe”, the choice of temperature and the cooling process, the speed, along with the tasting, are the 4 parameters which the Chief Distiller and the Master Blender can influence so as to produce fine, aromatic eaux-de-vie and to obtain the organoleptic profile that the Master Blender requires.

After the distillation, the Master Blender selects the eaux-de-vie that will be aged and used for the blending of each Cognac PARK.

Then comes the ageing. In our cellars located on the banks of the River Charente, where thousands of casks are meticulously positioned in an atmosphere which is both obscure and humid, the young, colourless eaux-de-vie, will repose for a number of years enclosed in French oak so as to patiently acquire a palette of varied aromas and an amber colour.

Finally, the Master Blender, just like a perfumer’s nose, creates the subtle blends from a variety of eaux-de-vie that express the unique personality and style of each Cognac PARK.

The complementary vision of Lilian and Jérôme Tessendier, as well as their scientific approach to tasting, allows the optimisation of a synergetic work which benefits the sobriety and the natural elegance that is the style of Cognac PARK. From their vast palette of aged eaux-de-vie, Jérôme and Lilian subtly blend, step by step, sometimes as many as three hundred eaux-de-vie each year to create the PARK Collection.

The PARK Cognac range expresses through the blending of cognacs from 2 to 4 growing areas or cognac from a single growing area, the unique character of these regions.

You must be of legal drinking age in the country from where you are accessing this site

I am of legal drinking age