WELCOME TO the turn of the 20th century,” said my guide, Marielle Chopin-Pascaud, as I entered the tasting room of BacheGabrielsen (bache-gabrielsen.com), on a quiet street in downtown Cognac. As four generations of Bache-Gabrielsens stared down at me from black-and-white portraits, I sipped the double-distilled brandy that bears the name of this city and region. Blended from spirits dating as far back as World War I, the drink offered a complex taste from another era: rich, unctuous, with evocative aromas and flavours of well-worn leather, dark tobacco, antique furniture. It was the sort of brandy you’d imagine a man in a smoking jacket might drink from a snifter while sitting before a roaring fire.
But as we descended into the cellars, we entered the 21st century. I saw Cognacs aged in amphorae, like the orange wines that have become the rage at natural-wine bars. Some were treated like bourbon, aged in American oak rather than French—a heresy in this tradition-minded place. “We want to be an audacious house,” Chopin-Pascaud told me.
That sort of quiet but radical innovation has become the norm. As a city, Cognac—which sits on the banks of the languid Charente, at the heart of the appellation of the same name—had always been a sleepy destination, the sort of place that rolled up the sidewalks at 10 pm. A decade ago, while running up a hefty tab with friends at a local bar, I remember being asked to leave because the staff wanted to close early. In the aughts, a friend who’d moved from Paris nearly went crazy with boredom and fled.
Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av Travel+Leisure India.
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Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av Travel+Leisure India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Lunching In Leh
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The Medieval Charm of Elsinore
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Natural Selection
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Where the Wild Things Are
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FROM THE VOICE WITHIN
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MONSOON IN THE WILD
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Ray of Sunshine
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Championing Change with Conversations That Matter
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Travelling Through Conscious Well-Being
In the ever-evolving landscape of wellness, where data meets intuition and science aligns with ancient practices, Deepak Chopra stands as a unique bridge between these worlds. Chopra talks to Dipali Patwa about how travel, when intertwined with wellness, becomes a powerful catalyst for personal transformation.
Transcending The 'Trend'
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