THE HOUSE OF COMANDON, TWO CENTURIES OF HERITAGE
In 1804 Napoleon became Emperor of France. Napoleon’s constant warfare in Europe started the decline of cognac exports, particularly with Great Britain, the primary consumers of cognac at the time. After the fall of Napoleon in 1815 and the removal of trade barriers between France and Great Britain, a period of great business activity started in the towns of Cognac and Jarnac.
The House of Comandon was founded in 1821 by 20-year-old Pierre Comandon who was quick to seize this new growing opportunity, and he established his business on the Charente river bank in Jarnac. He later became the mayor of Jarnac in 1851, and he was an important player in the development of cognac sales overseas with dominant market share positions in South America, India, and Africa.
Louis Comandon was the second generation in the business. He had a significant role in the reconstruction of the cognac vineyards after the phylloxera plague hit Charente and destroyed most of the vineyards in 1875. He was also an important elected official in Charente who was involved in the political decisions which later concluded in the 1909 and 1936 decrees, creating the General Area for the production of Cognac and the controlled appellations of Cognac.
The actual "Maison Comandon" is located in the old Cognac town. It is considered to be the oldest house in Cognac with its foundation built by the Romans in 418 BC. It is also considered as one of the first house in the city of Cognac which started the production of Cognac. Its cellar, named "Paradis" for cognacs, has a perfect humidity and further history related to the Pelgrims of Saint-James the 2nd Apostle and half brother of Jesus Christ (see route of Saint-James of Compostella). The House is located at the top of the rue Saulnier, exactly at No.1 rue Saulnier, the historical street of cognac makers and negociants.
Comandon Cognac is one of the few independent brands that still controls and performs all aspects of its production in-house. This explains why our cognacs have a unique personality. The House of Comandon Comandon is a truly outstanding boutique cognac house producing only limited editions cognacs from the most exclusive vineyards of Cognac.
Comandon has been a family business for almost 200 years, with many generations playing an important role in the Cognac community.
Today, Comandon is a cognac ‘independent bottler’ run by the Vigneron family which sources their cognac to bring the best cognac selections available in a large variety of styles as possible in the ‘once it’s sold and drunk’ there is no more.
In recent years Comandon has received the highest recognitions being the only boutique cognac producer to win twice ‘world best cognac’ at the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco (2010 and 2014).