The professions linked to the elaboration and marketing of Jules Gautret Cognac are distinguished by their diversity thanks to the support of the Charente cooperative group, as well as numerous partners in the region.

Each profession is an essential link in the production of Cognac and benefits from an extreme wealth of know-how and techniques.

We invite you to come and meet Pierrick, Master Blender in our distillery in Mosnac. He has kindly accepted to answer our questions, in order to learn more about his job.

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The term Master Blender makes you dream! So you are the holder of the secrets of Jules Gautret Pineau and Cognac?

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It’s true, I make all the products in the Jules Gautret range. Even if the exact title of my job is “Pineau and Cognac production manager”. It may sound less jovial, but the missions are the same.

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Let’s talk about your missions. On a daily basis, what is the role of the person in charge of the elaboration of pineau and cognac?

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It’s a job with very diverse tasks. In fact, my job is punctuated by the seasons. During the harvest period, I follow up and schedule the supply of must and distillation wine to the distillery. It is a step that requires a good relationship with the members, but also requires a lot of rigor.

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How is it that you receive grape must directly at the distillery? Isn’t it reserved for the wineries that produce the distillation wines?

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For a Pineau des Charentes to have this appellation, it is necessary that the blending between the cognac and the grape must is done on the property. This is why, during the harvest period, we sometimes have must, pineau and cognac at the same time on the distillery site.

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Once the harvest is over, what do you do next?

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After this period, I have to manage the production and blending phases of the pineau and cognac, until they are ready to be shipped for bottling. At the same time, I have to monitor and manage the stocks of cognac eaux-de-vie and pineau on all the storage and ageing sites of the group. Of course, in addition to this, I also have to write administrative documents related to customs, transport and security, while always being available for monitoring or in case of major events on the distillery site.

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It’s a job with a lot of responsibility. Did you always want to become a master blender?

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Let’s just say that I have always been attracted by the world of cognac and its production. At the beginning, I imagined myself working in the vineyard, since my family owns a vineyard. But the more I learned about the product, the more I found it fulfilling to work on the finished product, which requires a view of the whole production cycle.

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What was your career path to get to your position?

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I started by completing a specialized Master’s degree in “Wine Estate Management” at Bordeaux Sciences Agro. I then followed a professional training in Spirits Inventory Management: production techniques, blending and range creation at the International Spirits Center. This is what allowed me to join the company in 2020.

From year to year, the quality and the aromatic palette of the cognacs you develop do not change or change very little. How do you manage to achieve this?

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It should be noted that the distillation and ageing methods have also remained constant for years. The gestures and practices have remained very traditional, therefore, this constancy is directly reflected in the quality of the final product. Whether it is for pineau or cognac, it is the blending process that allows this consistency and the final quality.

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Why is this consistency essential for cognac?

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It is essential for many reasons, but the main ones concern the stability of the quality, so that the customer can find his way through our products, but also so that the commercial policy is adapted to the quality of what we produce.

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Can you tell us the secret of a good blend for a cognac or a pineau?

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These are secrets that lie in the experiences of Patrick and Alain! To be a good master blender, you have to learn from the experience of those who have been doing this for a long time.

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I see that I will not get the secret I am looking for! Can you tell us about the storage of the eaux-de-vie for which you are responsible?

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All the cellars of the distillery are dry cellars that mainly house tonneaux. One is dedicated to the storage of cognacs ready to be shipped, another is used to receive new eaux-de-vie and the other four allow the ageing of intermediate counts, such as count 3, which are no longer VS, but not yet VSOP. We also have two cask cellars, part of which is renewed every year, and a stainless steel cellar that allows us to make all our cuts and prepare the batches for shipment.

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If you could give us one of the most difficult steps in your work, what would it be?

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The hardest part of my job is anticipating production. Throughout the year, this is our common thread. We have to find the balance between the quality of the finished product and the regularity of our production. In this respect, I am lucky to be supported by Alain and Patrick, who are true Master Blenders of pineau and cognac in our cellars.

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Finally, to end on a lighter note, can you talk about the aspects you like most in your job?

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I am surrounded by a very good team, which is already a lot. But it is also always a pleasure to have technical exchanges between the different collaborators and to taste the finished products. It’s very symbolic to be able to see the quality of everything we’ve done to get to this point, especially when we can do it from start to finish.