Cognac Raffaud has been a family-run business for three generations. Michel Raffaud, the current head of the company, took over in 1960 when he was at the young age of sixteen. His father passed away only four years after Michel took over the business. At the time, the Maison only had four to five hectares of vineyards and a small wood-fired alambic.

Over time, Michel expanded the vineyards and switched from the wood-fired alambic to coal-fired. Despite their success, Michel and his wife Annie never bottled any of their Cognacs or Pineau des Charentes, instead selling their Eaux-de-vie to Hennessy, Martell, Courvoisier, and Grand Marnier. The only exception was Lot 66, which Michel kept for himself and was now bottled with Pieter from Malternative Belgium. Selected from a sentimental year of Michel's life, the eau-de-vie used to make these hidden Cognac and Pineau jewels come from when he first met his wife – Annie. This Lot was harvested by hand and aged in new barrels for three to four months before being transferred to tonneaux and put into old barrels to rest.

Cognac Raffaud only ages their eaux-de-vie in Limousin oak barrels, which helps to bring out the distinct violet flavor profile that the Borderies region is known for. Today, they have 40 hectares of vineyards in Borderies, and they distill their Eaux-de-vie using gas. Hubert, Michel’s son, is slowly taking over the family business. Both Michel and Annie have an incredible knowledge and an outstanding sense of taste. That is why both are also judges at various spirits competitions, with Michel judging Cognac and Annie judging Pineau. On February 25th and 27th, 2023, Michel and Annie will be judging at the Salon de l’agriculteur in Paris.

The name, “La Maison Rouge” has remained a mystery for the Raffaud family. Despite their attempts to uncover the origin of the name, the only explanations they have come across are that the house may have once been painted red, or that the vollets on the windows were once painted red. Neither is the case, as they scraped all the paint off to see if it was actually the red color. They also investigated the possibility that it was once a post house, but no explanation was found for why it was called “La Maison Rouge”. The only other explanation is that, when standing in the back of the house in certain angle with the sun and the wind, the light shimmers red. To this day, the origin of the name remains unknown.