Francois Voyer Cognac GC XO 1er Cru CARAFE 40% 700ml

The Chauchet-Voyer family has been cultivating vineyards in Verrières and Ambleville — both villages in the Grande Champagne sub-appellation of Cognac — since the French Revolution. François Voyer formalised the Cognac brand under his own name in 1875 and built the house into a recognisable single-estate producer. Five generations have continued the work; in 2017 Pierre Vaudon took over the operation as the fifth-generation steward. The family vineyard is now organised around La Maison François Voyer's holdings of 70 hectares, including 8 hectares of Grande Champagne 1er Cru around Saint-Même-les-Carrières.

François Voyer works as a single-estate Cognac house: only Grande Champagne grapes, distillation and bottling done in-house, no purchasing of finished spirit from other estates. The range covers VS (Terre de Grande Champagne, 5 yrs), VSOP, Napoléon (15 yrs), XO Gold (20–30 yrs), Hors d'Âge, and the rare single-vintage Lot releases including the Lot 93 cask-strength expression. The single-estate model — increasingly uncommon in Grande Champagne, where most production is sold to négociants — gives Voyer's wines a consistent stylistic signature across the age tiers.