at Martell Cognac, the region’s oldest great house. Martell works with 1,200 suppliers across the Cognac region and supplies its luxury spirits around the world, especially in the USA and China. In 1715, Jean Martell, a young merchant originally from Jersey, created his own trading business at Gatebourse in Cognac, on the banks of the Charente River, and thus founded one of the very first cognac houses. Martell used grapes from the vineyards in the Borderies subregion, and used Tronçais oak for its casks, this made a combination that resulted in an exceptionally smooth cognac.
