Larsen, merchant in Cognac

 

  • 1926  Jens Reidar Larsen from NOrway, who had emigrated to France in 1919, buys the Joseph Gautier company .
  • 1926   Jens Reidar Larsen establishes his firm: Larsen.
  • 2012   Larsen is sold to Rémy-Cointreau
  • 2013   Larsen is re-sold to the Finnish Altia group.

 

After having learned the trade at Prunier for a few years, Jens Reidar Larsen buys the firm of the cognacproducer Joseph Gautier and establishes his own company. Later on his company was continued by his daughter Jean and her children – Frederic, Nicolas and Anne – after her. Being very proud of their descent, their full name is: Larsen – le cognac des Vikings.

In 2012 the company is sold to Rémy-Cointreau, who resold it half a year later to Altia, but only after they took out a big part of the stocks. It is not quite clear if the Larsen family still plays an active role in the company. According to a recent interview in the Charente Libre they do not, but reading the website of Larsen one would think they still do.
As far as I know Davis Croizet was managing director, being succeeded in 2015 by Jerôme Durand. Robert Andrieux is the master blender.

Besides Larsen, Altia is also in possession of the cognac brands Grönstedt, Renault and Amundsen.

Larsen makes their cognacs from the four best Cru’s. They buy the cognacs from wine growers, distillers and merchants. So they buy young eaux-de-vie as well as old, matured cognacs. They store young eau-de-vie first in casks of Tronçais oak for only a few weeks, and then in old wood to limit the amount of tannins. The colour of the cognacs is very light, so they use caramel to touch up the colour before they bottle it.

Gamma: VS, VSOP, XO, XO Extra d’Or, Arctic XO, Leif Eriksson XO, Viking Bell, Extra Reserve (Fine Champagne), Viking Ship (Fine Champagne).

Other brands in possession of Larsen are:

  • Joseph Gautier
  • Ibis (a brand of Gautier)
  • Girardot

 

 

 

 

www.cognac-larsen.fr
Address: 66 Boulevard de Paris, BP 41 16102 Cognac Cedex. Telephone: 0545 820588. (No information available on possibilities for visiting).

 

 


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