Twenty-five minutes from Cognac there is a small hamlet called Neuvicq-le-Château. Neuvicq is home to the Balluet Cognac Distillery, a family-run distillery opened in 1845 and now run by Jean Balluet. It is located in the Fins Bois terroir, a wine producing sub-region of the Cognac appellation, in the Charente-Maritime. Balluet is a small but very authentic distillery with huge amounts of character. It is very much worth venturing out of Cognac to visit this gem.
Balluet Distillery
The Balluet Distillery looks a bit like a cowshed in amongst the vines. There is a small sign on the door, and a tiny tasting room. But don’t let this simple facade fool you, some of the best pineau and cognac awaits you inside. In the foyer, all the stock sits in boxes and the Balluet’s first tiny still sits on display, alongside a miniature model of it too.
Balluet Cognac Tour
The small tasting room is where you will try the Balluet range once you have had your tour. Adorning the walls are pictures of Jean Balluet. Jean wasn’t here during our visit sadly, but our friends (who are regular visitors) said he is a wonderfully passionate man with a wicked sense of humour! The lady who took us on a tour of the distillery was very knowledgeable and spoke good english. Tours are not organised, you can just arrive during opening hours and ask if a tour is possible, or ring in advance if you have specific requirements.
Balluet Distillery is open Monday-Saturday 09:30-12:00 & 14:00-19:00 [as at November 2018]
Balluet Cognac and Pineau
A visit to Balluet isn’t the formal and fancy tour that you would find at the Hennessy Distillery in the centre of Cognac. There are no shiny stainless steel tanks, and no tickets to buy. The first room you enter is full of oak barrels – where the cognac ages. These are partly covered in a black fungus which is caused by what they call the ‘Angel’s Share’. The alcohol that evaporates out each year from the ageing process comes through the wooden barrel and causes the fungus to grow on the outside. It is estimated that distilleries lose 3% Angel’s Share every year – which is why the older cognacs are more expensive – because there is less volume left to sell!
In a room at the back there are the pineau barrels, and these are much bigger than the cognac barrels. Just look at how they dwarf us! Pineau is made up of 1/3 eau-de-vie (the distilled base of Cognac) and 2/3 grape juice. It is a lovely fruity apéritif, famous in the Charentes region of France. Because it uses the same ingredients as Cognac, it is often produced alongside it.
If you love wine/ alcohol tastings on your travels, why not try absinthe in its birthplace in Switzerland?
The Still Room
After winding your way past the grape crusher and the huge grape juice holding tanks, you reach the still room. As soon as you walk into this room, you will notice the sweet aroma and heat of the room. This still has been used for generations and keeps the small batch method alive and well. The end product of the distilling process is eau-de-vie, which they put it into a barrel next to the still. We got to smell this intensely strong product and it definitely cleared the sinuses! From here, the eau-de-vie gets put into barrels and it is this time in the oak that creates the cognac.
The Tasting Room
The best part of a distillery tour is, of course, the tasting at the end! You will get to try the pineau, the VSOP cognac, the utterly delicious 20 year old flagship cognac Très Vieille Réserve, and the smashing 40 year old Très Vieille Réserve Napoléon Fine Cognac. The Balluet Pineau is the nicest pineau I’ve tried in the region (and I’ve tried a few), and the 20 year old cognac should be your gold standard. If you are looking for a cognac for a special occasion, I recommend the Napoléon – it is like drinking nectar. I’m not a cognac aficionado by any means, nor have I tried a lot of specialty cognacs, but the Balluet products were absolutely delicious!
A Balluet Cognac Distillery Tour
If you are in search of an authentic cognac distillery experience, with some wonderful products to taste and purchase at the end, I would recommend Balluet. There are so many small batch distillers in the Charente countryside around Cognac that it is worth venturing out of the centre of the city. Discover the hidden gems of the Cognac region and add Balluet to your itinerary – you won’t regret it.
I was NOT a guest of Balluet, and all my opinions are, as usual, my own.
France is my speciality: read more about our wine adventures in Beaune, or visiting the Sarlat markets.
Contact me for itinerary planning help!
All photos © Hannah Henderson and may not be used without permission (sharing this blog post is fine, though!). Images shot with a Canon DSLR T3i Rebel + Canon EF-S 24 mm f/2.8 STM Lens, and an iPhoneX.
I’ve been to a similar distillery in Charante – I never actually knew what pineau was until I went to Chateau Guynot. It’s such a lovely part of France isn’t it
wow! This is a tour I’d love to be on. It’s amazing that the Balluet Cognac Distillery has been running since 1845. It’s good to know that we don’t have to organise the tour before hand, but just simply turn up and ask for one. I must admit I’ve never heard of pineau. Now, I know what it’s made of and what to have as an apéritif when i’m in the Charentes region. Those Pineau barrels are ginormous indeed. The 40 year old Très Vieille Réserve Napoléon Fine Cognac also sounds like something one must try too!
I do not drink cognac, but I still enjoyed your blog post and these photos… Those barrels are sooo huge, wow!
When we visited France last, we did a cognac tour too. So it was interesting to see this one in a different spot and distillery. Too bad you missed meeting Jean when you visited. We did not hear about Pineau when we visited. But David would probably love this fruity aperitif. Unfortunately we also found that we liked the expensive cognac! 😂 Thanks for bringing this experience back to us!
I’d never heard of Pineau before, I’m not a huge fan of cognac so perhaps this fruitier version would be more palatable for me! I do love learning about alcohol though, it is fascinating how putting things in barrels changes the taste so much – I would still have to taste it though, for the experience!
I haven’t been on a cognac distillery tour before but this looks great. It’s nice that it is smaller and more informal, I think tours like that are generally more intimate and easier to learn from. I didn’t know about the Angel’s Share, that’s very interesting and explains why certain older alcohols are more expensive.
It seems like Balluet Distillery is worth a visit especially to those who love cognacs. Although I am not a fan of cognacs, I’ll still visit especially I love to see the process of making it. I’m glad tours are not organised so I can just arrive during opening hours! Really thank you so much for sharing this!
I have been incorporating more food and wine tours into my travel but hadn’t considered Cognac! I was sold when you said it is like drinking nectar and love that it is an informal tour
Balluet looks like a lovely, small distillery tour. I love how intimate everything is there. You an really get to know the spirit of the spirit on tours like this.
Neuvicq-le-Château looks like a beautiful little place. I love doing tasting tours, and visiting the Balluet Cognac Distillery would be a super treat. That still looks so vintage compared to the modern distillery stills I’ve seen recently in Canada. But it fits in with the art of making cognac, that’s for sure. Time to head back to France!
Balluet is well known by Cognac specialists both for their products and their nice distillery.
Once you have visited the Fins Bois area, your path has to bring you to Petite Champagne then Grande Champagne. There are a number of craft cognac producers, some located at their estate since the 1650s.
And do not forget to pay a visit at a cooperage because if no barrel, no cognac and no Pineau !
Enjoy in moderation or with a local guide/driver.
Thank you for stopping by! Thanks for the tips – my readers will appreciate this. We live not far from Cognac, so it is a world we are exploring more of!
A visit to Balluet distillery was recomended to Us and it did not disappoint. The lady in attendance was very informative and spoke very good English. samples freely given were generous and the only down side was, we did not have an hour or so, to sit, savour and slowly enjoy the samples. The 40 year old Napolion was something else. Highly recomended.
We have been visiting Jean for 30+ years now, his cognac is second to non; we have bough Hennessey Paradis, Martel Louis 14th he gives them a run for their money but at a fraction of the price!
as the years have gone on the tours have increased, the washing of the glasses in cognac before consumption… (who needs water??) is quite amusing …, the smell of the barrels is heady. been there when the vandage is one, its hectic but they still have time for you and if you are lucky taste the grape juice just after its pressed!
if you need your sinuses cleared the barrel blow is a great one for the job!! when you go there you will know what I mean.
I don’t think I have ever seen jean in a pair of shoes, always sandals anytime of year. the cot he sleeps in whilst the distillation is taking place is something to behold as well.
The tower is where the pickers used to sleep but that’s days gone by.
all these fun things you never see in the big houses, its worth a drop in and have a designated driver with you!
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences at Balluet with us! We love it so much and always take our guests along.
We’re fortunate to have a home within 30 minutes drive and this place is a regular stop. Where else can you get 20 year old Cognac for 24€? You can only buy on the premises or directly from him via the web. If you’re visiting, make time to call at the chateau which is now a small but very pretty museum.
How wonderful for you (we are an hour away). Thanks for the tips!