With a rich family legacy that reaches back generations, Mauxion Selection produces unique single cru cognacs of exceptional complexity
“It’s the purest cognac you can find – for people who want to discover something different,” says Thibault Mauxion of Mauxion Selection, a brand he created to offer a range of single cru cognacs. “Ours is a family business. I am the 13th generation, my daughter will be the 14th. We have 60 hectares of vineyard and our own distillery and cellar, where we patiently age the cognac.”
Most cognacs are blended, with spirits from hundreds – even thousands – of makers in one bottle. Mauxion Selection creates unblended cognac bottled at cask strength, enabling it to develop with complexity. Mauxion cognac is produced in the prestigious terroir of Fins Bois, one of six regions in France legally designated since 1909 as cognac producers. Thibault also offers cognacs from five other protected regions, or Apellations: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires. Each bottle is numbered and certified, helping to preserve the story of each producer, vineyard and history in a way that cannot happen when the spirit is sold to large brands. The cognacs come in various sized artisan-designed bottles, available online at partner Cognac Expert.
All cognac starts life as wine, its unique taste traced back “to the soil the grapes are in, and their exposure to the sun”. The wine is distilled twice in a copper pot, then transferred to an oak barrel for ageing. There are strict rules about how long each part of the process takes, and “everything happens here in Fins Bois,” says Thibault. “When it is finished I taste it, and if I’m happy we will bottle it.”
That part of the process has changed since 1743, when Antoine Mauxion was the first of the family to produce eau de vie that become a cognac. “Later, my grandfather and great-grandfather would put the barrels on horses and take them to cognac companies. They would shake hands if they wanted to buy,” says Thibault. “There was no contract.”
The business no longer uses wood to heat the cognac during distilling, and the family has state-of-the-art vinification technology. Nevertheless, the family heritage, method and attention to quality remains, with one batch producing just 42 bottles. “When people buy this cognac, they enjoy something very exclusive.”
Instagram @mauxionselection