Massougnes Bonbonne 150 -200 Years Old

We have had this fabulous 150 -200 year old bonbonne for decades; it was given to us by The Comtesse de Bordelaise.  She is a direct descendant of the last French Royalty, King Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine and has direct links with the British Royal Family.  Although frail, she still lives on the remains of the Massougnes Estate near Aigre.

Once large and famous, the Massougnes estate has diminished considerably in size but over the years we have bought a few bottles of fabulous, historic and rare Massougnes cognacs from the Comtesse.  She shared some of their story with us in a handwritten note, translated and summarised thus:

The Massougnes estate is about 400 years old and descendents of the original owner still live there.  In 1800, it comprised 180 hectares with 40 – 50 members of staff.  All was well until a terrible disease ‘Phylloxera’ destroyed the vines during the 1870s decade and most were never replanted.  Instead, the estate took to raising wheat, barley oats, cows and horses.  The old bottles of cognac were, however, well looked after.  Every ten years the closures (cork & wax) were changed so the cognac remained at its strength of 41% abv.  Thanks to this care the bottles of Massougnes cognac, harvested over 200 years ago, have been preserved in accordance with the family motto ‘All heart. All honour’. 

Truly, history in a bottle, or in this case a Massougnes Bonbonne.