Here is a summary of our family story with a few key dates:

1909: Previously stewards in a neighbouring farm, Jean and Ernestine Gonthier bought a beautiful charentaise farm with some land adjoining the house and settled in the village called Chez Richon.

1934: Their son in law, Dély Forgeron , took the business over and decided to start mixed farming: cereals, vine and cattle breeding.

1949: Dély et Renée Forgeron shared the land between their 3 children: Michel is only 10 years old. His dad will manage the estate until he is 18.

1960: After 2 years of national service - Algeria’s war - Michel Forgeron settled in the family property. The estate was very small: 2Ha of vines and 4Ha of arable land. The work tools: a horse and the material adapted to it as well as old and unpractical buildings.

1965 : After having planted vine all over his land, Michel married Francine and installed a copper still. He transformed the stable into a distillery and the barn in a Cognac ageing cellar in order to carefully line up and store his barrels.

1977: The family had grown with the arrival of 3 children: Isabelle (1967), Christophe (1969) and Pierre (1977) … They had grown up … The vineyard and the stock too … Michel and Francine decided to start a commercial activity by bottling their Cognac and selling it under their own name. The « Michel Forgeron » brand was born!

1991: The introduction of the grape harvesting machine 12 years earlier had led to the slow disappearance of young hippies and their rucksacks from the streets of Cognac. Never mind, next year we will also invest in a machine! It will surely be less fun but definitely more efficient.

1998: With its 16 Ha, the vineyard has now reached a good size. The estate has gained modern equipment, all the buildings have been refurbished and the stock of Cognac is remarkable, both due to its quality and quantity. The bottles sales have kept on increasing due to the quality of the products offered and also to Francine’s efforts: her sociability and welcome skills have made the tour of the estate a recommended stopping place for tourists and her involvement in the Grande Champagne Tourist Office contributed to her Tourism Medal in 1998. Aware – and proud! – to have successfully achieved his goal, Michel decided to enjoy a well deserved retirement.

1999: Still young, but already known for his dynamism and his involvement in promoting Cognac (Creator of « La Nuit du Cognac » and participating in various promotional events), Pierre carried on his parents’ work, taking advantage of their help and advice. With more staff, the vineyard grew to 19 Ha.

2000: The VSOP Michel Forgeron won the Gold Medal at the first global competition open to Cognac products (Salon de l’Agriculture).

2002: After 10 years spent travelling around the world as a telecoms engineer, Christophe came back to the estate with the project of heading the commercial side of the business. Little by little, he trained in the tasting of the spirits, widened the Cognacs range, made the blends and developed the export of the products and the exhibitions.

2007: An opportunity enabled us to increase the vineyard to 24 Ha. A second copper still became necessary. Pierre and Christophe working together, put into practice their environment-friendly vision: less pesticide, less fuel, recycling and use of rain water…

2009: 100 years! The house has been part of the family for 100 years. Men have had to adapt to the climate and economical changes for 100 years, thinking about the best way to develop the estate and improve the quality of their production. Men have been working with enthusiasm to make their projects become true for 100 years. The last one: 260 m2 of solar panels on the roof of the new shed which will enable to optimize the storage for the equipment and the bottling process.