Paul Giraud

Paul Giraud

COGNAC PAUL GIRAUD & Fils is a family-owned estate located in Bouteville, a small village in the heart of Grande Champagne, the premier cru of Cognac. The estate has been passed down from father to son since 1635. Paul Jean Giraud, born in 1952, is the 10th generation to lead the domain. In 1975, Paul Jean and his father founded Cognac Paul Giraud, and the brand was established in 1976 with the beginning of bottling. For five years, Paul Jean developed his sales in France before beginning to export in 1980. Currently, their cognacs are distributed selectively in France, in fine grocery stores, wine shops, and restaurants, and are exported to more than 35 countries around the world. In continuation and transmission, Paul, son of Paul Jean (11th generation), works alongside his father. They share the same passion and have a common vision for the sustainability of their know-how.

Visit Paul Giraud: Le Bourg ,16120 Bouteville ,+33 (0)5 45 97 03 93 ,Contact Giraud directly to arrange visits and tastings.

Products

History of Paul Giraud

The cognac house Paul Giraud has been handed down from father to son since 1650, a rare thing to achieve, especially in these days, where businesses are forced into mergers and big international distribution networks. Paul Jean Giraud has now been running the cognac house for some decades now, holding on to this great value. Giraud is renowned for its perfectionist approach to cognac making and for its elegant products.

Part of the secret is that the cellar where the barrels are stored, lies at the foot of a small hill and has a small creek that passes right through it. This makes for a very humid climate inside the cellar, allowing some necessary alcohol to evaporate without reducing the volume of the distillate. This results in a light and flowery note in Paul Giraud's cognac.

The current size of their vineyard is 50 hectares, all planted mainly with Ugni Blanc on hillsides and half-hillsides on the chalky soils of the Campanian and Santonian. Their community is renowned for the quality of its soils, which are conducive to the aromatic finesse of its eaux-de-vie, which is very representative of Grande Champagne. They have long practiced a reasoned, environmentally friendly culture, respecting the life cycle of the vine, which is about 50 years. Furthermore, a large part of the vineyard is still harvested by hand, a practice that is increasingly rare in the Charentes (only four or five domains still practice it). They are fervent defenders of manual harvesting in order to not only protect the vineyard but also to enhance the quality of their eaux-de-vie. Distillation receives all their attention and ancestral know-how passed down from generation to generation.

They distill with the lees, which makes the eaux-de-vie more complex. They are fortunate to have exceptionally humid cellars due to the presence of a spring whose flow regulates temperature and humidity throughout the year. After aging in one-third new French oak barrels and two-thirds red oak barrels, all barrels of each vintage are blended during a long aging process. Their range of cognacs embodies the triptych of floral, fruity, and spicy notes that are characteristic of the aromatic evolution of Grande Champagne. The delicacy, roundness, suppleness, and softness of their eaux-de-vie combined with aging in their very humid cellars ensure that their cognacs have a remarkable singularity and aromatic complexity that has made their reputation and success. Their family reserve of very old eaux-de-vie allows them to offer connoisseurs a complete and diversified range. From single-cru 100% Grande Champagne and 100% single-year cognacs, except for the heritage which is the marriage of three exceptional vintages, all exclusively from their estate.

Cognac Paul Giraud, a family single estate operation means: Total mastery of the entire production, development, and marketing process in perfect autonomy. French excellence. Artisan of cognac. They invite you to travel through time and flavors by sharing precious moments of tasting, explosions of aromas and emotions that speak to the senses.

Paul Giraud - a true LE MANS fan

It's worth noting that Paul Giraud is not only a cognac connoisseur but also a racing enthusiast, especially when it comes to the famous Le Mans race. For those unfamiliar with Le Mans, it is a 24-hour endurance race for sports cars held near the French city of Le Mans.

The race has been held since 1923 on the Circuit des 24 Heures, located south of the city, with sections of the track being used as public roads outside of the race. Interestingly, the original circuit was around 17.3 km long and extended into the city center of Le Mans. However, in 1932, the track was shortened to approximately the current 13.5 km length. Paul Giraud is a true connoisseur of Le Mans racing and even collects miniature racing cars from the event.

News, Products & Anecdotes and Labels

In March 2011, Paul Giraud Cognac teamed up with the number one Belgian chocolatier Godiva for a tasting session of both marvels in Shanghai, China. This shows how international even smaller cognac producers can be today.

Visit Paul Giraud

For visits to the estate in Bouteville, Charente, call Giraud directly. One can also arrange a tasting.

Visit the website of Paul Giraud

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