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Patience, rigour and respect are the hallmarks of the TARANSAUD cooperage approach, which is centred on the close-knit union between wood and wine. During ageing in French oak barrels, wines and brandies acquire the finishing touches to their character and reveal their full complexity. This is what we call a "perfect exchange". In order to achieve it, we use extremely rigorous methods at every stage of the crafting of our barrels and tanks.
TARANSAUD TONNELLERIEMerpins B.P. 187 | 16106 COGNAC Cedex (France)
Tél : +33 (0) 5 45 36 86 50
Fax : +33 (0) 5 45 36 86 56
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HISTORY
1672 : beginning of the long history of TARANSAUD, whose first ancestor cooper decided to join this craft.
1932 : belonging to a family of highly skilled coopers since 1672, Roger TARANSAUD settled as barrel craftsman in Juillac-le-Coq, near the town of Cognac, South West of France.
1937 : Roger TARANSAUD transferred his cooperage to rue St Gelais in Cognac.
1940 : the establishing of TARANSAUD company.
1944 : while working with his two sons Pierre and Jean, Roger TARANSAUD decided the time was ripe to hire apprentices and master coopers to work with him. The cooperage proceeded to grow rapidly and Roger TARANSAUD moved his premises to « rue Bayard » in Cognac, which has been renamed in 2002 « rue Jean Taransaud ».
1963 : the firm had 35 employees and changed the legal status to that of a public company.
1968 : on May 15th, the workshops were entirely destroyed by a fire. Roger TARANSAUD did not lose hope, and together with his son Jean decided to rebuild the cooperage on another site. They chose the commune of Merpins, where they already stored oak used to make their barrels.
1972 : TARANSAUD became a subsidiary of Hennessy, one of the leading Cognac firms.
1973 : new buildings were constructed; the work force increased to 49 employees and Jean TARANSAUD took over managing the firm from his father, Roger, who retired. He will be in charge of the cooperage until his death in 1990.
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1976 : docteur in Métiers d'Art, Knight of the National Order of Merit, member of the Workers' Association of the Companions of Duty, Jean TARANSAUD is also the author of a reference book, « Le Livre de la Tonnellerie » (The Book of Barrel Making), published in November.
1988 : while adding the activity of wine barrels to cognac barrels, and starting export, TARANSAUD went from 49 to 90 employees.
1990 : death of Jean TARANSAUD.
1991 : in addition to the Merpins splitting mill, TARANSAUD opens a second one in La Châtre, in the Indre, situated in the heart of the « Centre » forests of France.
1997 : Henri de PRACOMTAL and his family purchased TARANSAUD from Hennessy. Since this purchase, TARANSAUD belongs to Chêne & Cie.
1999 : renovation and extension of facilities and workshops.
2000 : moving of the Merpins splitting workshop to the nearby town of Segonzac and opening of a commercial unit in Beaune (Burgundy), TARANSAUD Beaune, to be a major supplier to the great domains of Burgundy. This new subsidiary's activity is entirely devoted to the manufacture of extremely high quality 228 litre Burgundy barrels.
Today, TARANSAUD has never lost sight of its ambition to become the benchmark for French barrel makers, and to adhere to strict quality standards. This determination led to attestation by Bureau Veritas re. the 100 % French origin of oak and the seasoning of all stave wood in the open air. |
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