A traditional Charentais vin de liqueur balancing luscious orchard fruit and wild honey with the warming, oak-aged depth of fine Cognac.

Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Pours a warm, radiant golden amber. The nose is expressive and inviting, opening with ripe yellow peach, baked apricot, and quince paste, layered over sweet notes of wild honey, vine blossom, and a gentle dusting of toasted almond from seasoned oak.

On the palate, it delivers instant richness without feeling cloying or heavy. Lush flavours of dried stone fruit, sultanas, and spiced orange marmalade coat the tongue, cut cleanly through by a spine of fresh grape acidity and the gentle, spirituous warmth of mature Cognac. The finish is clean, rounded, and wonderfully persistent, leaving lingering traces of candied citrus peel, walnut, and sweet wood spice.

Food Pairings:

Pineau is the definitive French country apéritif, but it does serious work at the table too. Serve it cellar-cool alongside rich chicken liver parfait, duck terrine, or dry-cured charcuterie and melon. It also cuts right through salty, pungent cheeses—try it with a wedge of blue cheese such as Roquefort or a mature farmhouse cheddar. For a long drink, pour 50ml over ice and top with chilled tonic water and a strip of orange peel.

Pierre Ferrand Pineau des Charentes is also currently available by the glass in The Wine Press, Dundee's finest Wine Bar.

About the Producer

Maison Ferrand is based in the heart of Cognac at Château de Bonbonnet in Ars. When Alexandre Gabriel took the helm in 1989, his focus was clear: strip away modern industrial shortcuts and revive the historic, artisanal traditions that made the Charente world-renowned in centuries past. While best known for their unblended Grande Champagne Cognacs, Ferrand has always kept Pineau des Charentes at the centre of their daily life. To them, it isn't an obscure footnote; it is the drink shared around the kitchen table after harvest, crafted with the exact same pedigree and patience as their premier cru spirits.

Vineyard & Winery

Viticulture & Terroir:

The fruit is grown across chalky, clay-limestone parcels in the Charente region, where maritime weather systems rolling off the Atlantic moderate the warm summer sun. This climate allows Ugni Blanc and Colombard grapes to develop ripe fruit sweetness while retaining the razor-sharp natural acidity essential for balancing fortified wines.

Winemaking & Maturation:

Pineau des Charentes is crafted using the time-honoured technique of mutage. Freshly pressed, unfermented grape must is blended with high-proof, one-year-old Cognac eau-de-vie (distilled on the lees in traditional Charentais copper pot stills). The addition of the spirit halts fermentation immediately, locking in the natural sweetness and vibrant character of the raw grape juice. The blend is then racked into seasoned French oak casks and left to mature quietly in Ferrand’s cellars for a minimum of 18 months—well exceeding the legal wood-ageing requirements—allowing the spirit and fruit to marry into a harmonious, silky whole.