Meukow, brand owned by le Compagnie de Guyenne in Cognac; before: cognac firm in Cognac
De poort van Meukow aan de Rue Pascal Combeau
About 1900 this company enjoyed a very good reputation and was a supplier for The House of Lords in England and for The White House in the USA.
Nowadays Meukow belongs to the CCG group (Compagnie Commerciale de Guyenne or Compagnie De Guyenne, CDG) and it is the flagship of it.
- Established in 1862 by two brothers, Auguste-Christophe and Gustave (Karl) Meukow, together with another partner, Lervoire.
- 1865 Lervoire passes down his shares to Henri Bouraud, who became partner.
- In 1874 Bouraud handed his share of the company to the Scotsman Thomas Alexander Shepherd. Thomas Alexander Shepherd was born in Adelaïde, Australia where his father, Thomas Shepherd, had made his fortune. In the late 1830´s he had bought a large plot of land in a time when Adelaïde was just beginning to develop. He built the Marybank house, that still exists today. Around 1850 the family returned to Scotland.
- 1878 Auguste-Christophe Meukow died. In consultation with the heirs Shepherd acquired full ownership of the company.
- 1880 Shepherd handed the company over to Gustav Klaebisch.
- 1899 (about) Meukow launched ‘Cognac Grande Champagne, marque Napoléon’. But it was Courvoisier who exploited the image of Napoléon in the first half of the twentieth century from a marketing perspective.
- In 1914 the French State seizes the company from Klaebisch, because he was German. In this period Meukow is one of the biggest cognac houses. The new manager for Meukow is Harold Butler.
- After the war in 1918 the widow of Thomas A. Shepherd acquires the ownership from the French State. Harold Butler remained manager for more then fifty years; he also becomes a shared owner.
- Duncan Lauder Sheperd, son of Thomas Alexander, becomes the owner together with Harold Butler.
- Around 1940 Duncan Lauder Shepherd and his wife and suns fled to England. His daughter Daphne marries with André Villesuzanne. Together with Harold Butler they continue to lead the company.
- 1968: Meukow encounters severe financial difficulties. Harold Butler sells his shares to André Villesuzanne, who also inherites the rest of the shares from Shepherd. André Villesuzanne becomes sole owner.
- 1978: sailes are down to almost zero.
- 1979: Michel Coste of the CCG-groupe buys Meukow and revitalises the company.
- 1995: Michel Coste designs a new logo for Meukow: the panther.
Nowadays the Meukow mark sells as much as in the beginning of the twentieth century.
They possess a rather big vineyard in the Petite Champagne district, but most of their cognac is being bought as eau-de-vie: 70% Fins Bois and 30% from both champagne districts. During the first two years the cognac is stored in new casks of limousin oak; after that the cognac is put in old casks, half of it made of Limousin oak, the otherhalf of Tronçais oak. When necessary they add sugar, caramel and wood extracts.
Range of cognacs:
VS this used to be a fine champagne; nowadays it is 100% Fins bois.
VSOP (Fins bois), Napoléon, XO, XO grande champagne, Extra.
Also some old cognacs: Rarissime, Drapeau, Fin de Siècle, Nec Plus Ultra, 1964, 1965, 1970 and NPU Baccarat.
Other marks that belong to Meukow:
– Comte d’Artim
– Moullon
http://www.meukowcognac.com/
Address: CDG-group, 26 Rue Pascal Combeau, 16101 Cognac. Telephone: 0545 823210. Visiting on reservation, monday till friday from 10h00-17h00; off season: monday till thursday 10h00-12h and 13h30-16h; friday 10-11h.
Hi professor Breuer.My great grandfather was Alexander Shepherd owner of A.C.Meukow from 1874 and after WW 1 until 1978.I have a wealth of information, photos etc on this Cognac House.Kind regards John Duncan Shepherd.
Hi John,
many thanks for your message. I will get in touch with you directly via your e-mail adress. Would be fantastic to exchange all information about the company Meukow which really has had a historic background in the last century. I´m exited and interested to get more details as the one I already know and mentioned in my book Cognac Culture (see http://www.cognac-culture.de).
Best regards
Joachim
Hello Professor Breuer, Kindly read this message I sent to John Shepherd (then I would love to hear from you !) “Hello John, I am fascinated by your comment as I am researching information about the Meukow brothers. it seems that Auguste-Christophe (whose marriage to a young lady from the Marchand family was frowned upon by the “anti-Prussians”. Miss Marchand’s mother was a Williamson) died a mere four years after his wedding. I have been unable to establish whether or not they bore descendants. As for Gustav Meukow, it seems he left the area for reasons unknown (the Franco-Prussian War might have something to do with it). I would love to hear from you and will cc this comment to Professor Breuer as well. Warm regards, Nathalie”
Hello John, I am fascinated by your comment as I am researching information about the Meukow brothers. it seems that Auguste-Christophe (whose marriage to a young lady from the Marchand family was frowned upon by the “anti-Prussians”. Miss Marchand’s mother was a Williamson) died a mere four years after his wedding. I have been unable to establish whether or not they bore descendants. As for Gustav Meukow, it seems he left the area for reasons unknown (the Franco-Prussian War might have something to do with it). I would love to hear from you and will cc this comment to Professor Breuer as well. Warm regards, Nathalie
Please would you forward this email
Hi,
I forwarded this post to Sabine Tiemer. I also forwarded the post to Professor Breuer to him.
Both now also have your email address.
Kind regards,
Ton
Hallo Frau Tiemer,
Ton hat mir Ihre Nachricht weitergeleitet, habe jetzt nochmals um Ihre e-mail Adresse gebeten (da nicht angefügt). Das Buchprojekt ist praktisch abgeschlossen, liegt derzeit bei einem Verlag zur Entscheidung. Ich gehe jedenfalls davon aus, dass das Buch im Laufe diesen Jahres erscheinen wird.
Dear Mr Klaebisch. Thank you for your message, I have sent you an email. Regards J Shepherd
Dear sir,
Thank you for your message. I have sent you an e-mail in reply.
Regards,
Ton Hendriks
I find this article of great interest. My name is John Duncan Shepherd, my family were owners of Meukow as you say but I dont agree with some of your history. I have been researching my family history for some years.Its not clear who has written this article but would be interested to discus it with you Regards J D Shepherd
Dear Mr Shepherd,
my name is Gustavo Christian Klaebisch, nephew of Gustav Klaebisch, who previously run the company, before the first world war.
I have just read the article and I have read your comment. It would be such a pleasure to have the chance to talk to you. I am trying to put some pieces together regarding the history of my family. I have some documents regarding Meukow.
Would you like to talk and share some information and experiences? Write to my email address! Thank you.
Best,
Gustavo.
EMAIL: gustavoklaebisch@yahoo.com
Hallo Gustavo Christian Klaebisch, ich bin Sabine Tiemer. Mein Urgroßvater war Georg Albert Tiemer, der vor dem ersten Weltkrieg Prokurist bei Gustav Klaebisch/ Meukow war. Es wäre auch mir eine große Freude, wenn wir uns austauschen könnten. Ich habe einige Fotos. Wenn Sie möchten, schreiben Sie gern an meine email Adresse.
Beste Grüße
Sabine
Hallo Frau Tiemer, ich schreibe gerade ein Buch über die Kultur des Cognacs und zwei Kapitel beschäftigen sich mit der atemberaubenden Geschichte von Meukow. Jetzt suche ich nach passenden Fotos. Hätten Sie Fotos “aus der alten Zeit”, die Sie mir mit Copyright zur Verfügung stellen würden? Gerne erzähle ich Ihnen Näheres über mein Projekt. Ich würde mich über eine Kontaktaufnahme, gerne dann auch telefonisch, sehr freuen.
Viele Grüße aus Berlin
Joachim Breuer
I hope she answers. If she does not, post again and I try for you to establish contact.
(I can mail her and give your e-mail address to her with your request.)
Ton
Hallo Herr Professor Dr. Breuer, gerade erst lese ich Ihren Kommentar zu Ihrem Buchprojekt, das mich sehr interessieren würde.
Nehmen Sie gern Kontakt auf.
Viele Grüße auch aus Berlin
Sabine Tiemer
@ton: Hallo Ton, leiten Sie bitte meine e-mail Adresse an Herrn Dr. Breuer weiter. Vielen Dank, Heel erg bedankt.
Hi Sabine.My Family have been involved with A.C.Meukow from 1874 to 1978.I have some old photos from 1910,if you are interested.kind regards John Duncan Shepherd.