Claude Thorin Cognac

The estate of Cognac Claude Thorin was founded by André Thorin. With grounds all within the Grande Champagne region of Cognac, André took the decision not only to plant his vines with the Ugni Blanc that is so commonly used today, but with the Folle Blanche grape as well. After the phylloxera outbreak of the 1860s, most vineyards chose not to plant Folle Blanche anymore, preferring to use the high yielding Ugni Blanc grape. By making the decision to plant the rare Folle Blanche vine as well, André insisted on doing his bit for developing both cognac and pineau with the flavors of the old days.

In 1988, his son Claude Thorin took over the running of estate. Over the past twenty years, the vineyard area has increased in size over six times, producing a wide range of cognacs created strictly by using traditional methods.

Today, the estate of Claude Thorin continues to be run by André’s son Claude and his wife Nathalie Thorin. Since 1999, they have increased the size of the vineyards from 36 hectares to today’s total of 106. The range of cognacs they produce are a mixture of both very old vintages through to newer blends, ranging from a VS to an XO, all being a product of the Grande Champagne.

In addition to producing a wide variety of cognacs, they have also planted some vines with Colombard grapes that they use along with Ugni Blanc for producing a selection of different colored Pineau des Charente as well as wine.

Over the years, Claude Thorin’s cognac, pineau and wine have won a number of awards. These include Cognac VSOP Bronze medal from Vignerons Indépendants in 2011, Pineau des Charente gold medal from Vignerons Indépendants 2011 and Vin de Pays Charentais Sauvignon bronze medal in 2011 for their white wine.

One of Thorin’s rare pineau produced is “Pineau Amber”. This extraordinary product was the creation of André Thorin, and has continued under the expertise of Claude. Only 12 bottles are produced per year, each engraved with the year of bottling and the number of the bottle edition.

Contact the estate of Cognac Claude Thorin about visiting hours.