Park
For many years Baur au Lac Wines has been Switzerland's exclusive importer of the sumptuous Cognacs created by Dominic Park. The story goes back to the 1990s when Dominic Park decided to leave his job as a wine trader in London to create his own cognac house with the style he wanted. This is summed up by a very clean vision of what cognac should be: insist on the best origins and a very precise distillation and ageing to give a high-class product in a modern, elegant bottle.
The colour of Park cognacs is natural and results from a patient ageing of the eaux-de-vie. No caramel colouring is permitted and no rectification with concentrated tannins. All cognacs undergo a longer ageing than that imposed by law. Even the VS, the simplest cognac, matures for three and half years instead of the required two. The VSOP is aged for eight years instead of four, twice the minimum. As for the XO, Park lets it acquire its fullness over twenty years where nine suffice under the rules. Finally, the eaux-de-vie that go into the Extra, the Vieille Fine Champagne, in the top Cigar Blend, and into the Vieille Grande Champagne aged for forty to sixty years.
Spirits from Park
from Park
Nowadays, the Cognac Park style is unrivalled thanks to the expertise of the Tessendier & Fils distillery which, under the watchful eyes of the fourth generation Jerôme and Lilian, can tap into special reserves. The treasures include barrels and canisters of eaux-de-vie, the oldest of which are 130 years old, waiting to be expertly blended. For the real connoisseurs, the rare vintage bottlings are particularly interesting.
The traditional cognac bottle with its understated label already foretells the pleasures of tasting. The 20cl bottles make a nice flask to offer as a gift or to take anywhere to learn the magic of cognac.
Producer
Paladin
The vineyards of the Paladin winery are located in the border area between the Eastern Veneto and Friuli, where wine was already being grown in Roman times. At that time, the wines of this area were shipped in amphorae from the nearby sea ports to Rome, as reported by the historian Pliny.
Cascina Barisél / Franco Penna
With just 5 hectares, Franco Penna's winery is small but exquisite. The estate near Canelli, east of Alba, comprises only the very best south-facing sites with calcareous soils. Franco's father Enrico, who bought the estate in the 1960s, obviously knew what he was doing.
Domaine Cornulus
What started out from humble beginnings over 20 years ago is now one of Valais’ flagship wineries and the byword for both a way of working in harmony with nature and premium wines, all of which strongly bring out their individual terroir.