Pinet-Castillon
- 1814 Establishment of Pinet-Castillon in Cognac by Henri Pinet who later on associated with his father-in-law Jean Élie Henry Castillon. Two other people were involved in those early years: Beyerman and Dunnell.
- 1947 start of the Three Barrels brand.
- 1963 Renault merges with Pinet-Castillon and changes his name into Castillon-Renault (there were already family ties between the two).
- 1968 the health of Mr. Renault is deteriorating and Castillon is taking over control.
- 1973 Hennessy buys Castillon-Renault.
- 1975 Castillon-Renault is becoming part of the Dreyfus groep.
- 1975 Pellisson buys the Three Barrels brand.
- 1991 merger of Castillon-Renault with Bisquit-Dubouché. They are going to be called Renault-Bisquit.
Castillon was once a grand name in the world of cognac. It is perhaps better to call them by their full name ‘Pinet, Castillon & Co’. In 1814 Jean Élie Henry Castillon du Perron and Henri Pinet started this company in the city of Cognac. They were merchants, not producers. Within a couple of years they had gained a dominating position in the cognac business. They were shipping world-wide and enjoyed a huge popularity. Beside trading they occupied important positions in the public life like maire de Cognac, judge of the Commercial Court and chairman of that same Court.
Around 1900 they owned warehouses and distilleries in several adjacent streets in the city of Cognac: Rue de Gâtebourse, Rue du Port and Rue de l’Abattoir (today called Rue des Gabariers). They had stocks of over 1000 casks of cognac in each of four different huge buildings.
Financially they were doing very well, as can be seen by the beautiful chateau of mr. Castillon du Perron, le Chateau du Perron in Gensac-la-Pallue, halfway between Cognac and Jarnac. The chateau du Breuil in Bonneuil was also his property, as was the Chateau la Soloire. Of this last building not much information has remained.
In 1947 they created a new brand: Three Barrels. This brand was bought by Pellisson in 1975 at the same time as when Pellisson bought Raynal. This brand, Three Barrels, is still produced for the UK, but it is now ofcourse to be called brandy. The same goes for Raynal, a brandy they make for the rest of the world. Since 2005 the brands are owned by William Grant & Sons.
Meanwhile Pinet, Castillon & Co. was bought by Renault in 1963. Together they named themselves Castillon-Renault. Both families were already tied together by several marriages. At that time Castillon was more in the wholesale business, selling cognac in casks, while Renault put more emphasis on bottles. Both companies kept their independence though. When Mr. Renault’s health deteriorated Mr. Castillon took over in 1968 for both firms.
In 1973 Hennessy bought Castillon-Renault, only to resell them to the Dreyfus group in 1975. Again they kept their independency. Castillon-Renault merged with Bisquit-Dubouché in 1991 to be called Renault-Bisquit, but in 2009 the two brands were split-up again. Bisquit being owned by Distell and Renault by the Finnish firm Altia.
Sadly the brand name Castillon has disappeared during the 1970’s. Very regularly Pinet Castillon bottles are offered for sale, a lot of them vintages. But do not be surprised to find Napoleon, VSOP and three star bottles as well.
The Three Barrels brand still exists, but only as a brandy. It is mainly sold on the English market by Raynal (Raynal can be regarded as the continuation of Pellisson) that was purchased in 1999 by Patrice Quatravaux.
Some bottles Pinet, Castillon & Co:
Some bottles Castillon & Co:
Hello
My father passed away and among his things I found this bottle. Can you tell me anything about it? It’s actual age? Value?
Thank you very much
This is an ‘Old Vintage Blend’ from the 1960s, so not a vintage. I don’t know its age, but my guess would be 15-20 years.
I would estimate this bottle at €100-200 if in good condition. However, it is offered for much more on online websites.
Regards,
Ton
Dear admin_cognacton ,
I am writing to ask you for some advice.
I inherited two bottles of Cognac Castillon bought by my mother in the ’60s.
I would like to have information about this cognac and, if possible, an economic evaluation. As you can see from the photos that I have attached, the packages are in excellent condition.
Thank you in advance for your attention and help.
Best Regards, Franco Marcotullio
Franco Marcotullio.
Hi Franco,
That is really difficult to say. There are but a few of these bottles left. They are roughly from the 1950s. They contain ‘vieille fine champagne’, so not necessarily very long aged. Cognac can be called ‘vieille’ after 4 years of ageing. The text on the left is nothing more than a copy of a page from their records and 1814 is the founding date and has nothing to do with the year of distillation. It is probably just added to make the whole thing more interesting.
So it is a gift box with a young cognac and two glasses and should not be that expensive.
On the Internet, asking prices are very high, up to over a €1.000. On auctions you see them going for 200-300.
However, I haven’t seen this one yet, with the black cap. Is it original?
Kind regards,
Ton
Hi Ton,
Thank you so much for your answer. In reality, it is not a black cap but a piece of paper that protects the actual cap.
I still have to decide if I’m going to keep these bottles or if I’m going to sell them. If that’s not too much trouble, could you please recommend me (through my email) some auction and collectors websites?
I thank you again for your help and interest.
I would be interested of what you can tell me about the bottle and product of the Pinet Castillion cognac which picture I have attached. It has special labels added.
It is just a VSOP, Le Choix de la Maison. It is a German import bottle from around the 1960s.
Some online sites are asking ridiculously huge prices for these bottles. Normally the value would be around €40-60, but since prices have gone up, I wouldn’t be realyy surprised if they fetch €100 at auction.
It was designated for only the SAAR land. Which indicates that it could not be imported into Germany without a tax payment. Why else would it be designated as no “Toll”? The Saar was a free state until it became a German state in around 1957.
I have an 1847 letter folded envelope to the company in good condition.There is no stamp but a frank mark and PP in red top right hand side.
The letter inside is folded in half on the reverse side and can be displayed by unfolding it.
Hi
Has someone an idea what’s the approximate worth for this?And the quality? Thanks
Both VSOP bottles are not very popular. Besides, VSOP is not so interesting because they haven’t aged long.
I would say between €30 and €50 each at most.
Hello.
Has someone an idea what’s the approximate worth for this?And the quality? Thanks
Hello,
Could you please help me with the valuation of this bottle Pinet Castillon & Co vintage 1895.
The front label is missing but we can see the name of the producer on the top of the capsule.
Many thanks for your help,
Clément
Hello,
I was wondering if you could help me with a price estimation of the bottle attached (Pinet Castillon & Co vintage 1895).
The front label is missing but we can see the producer name on the top of the capsule.
Many thanks,
Clément
Hello,
I found this bottle attached of Cognac Pinet Castillon & Co 1895.
The front label is missing.
I was wondering if you could give me an estimation of its price ?
Many thanks,
Clément
Here is a picture of the capsule.
With its label I would estimate this bottle over €1.000.
I’ll send you an email.
Hello i’ve got this cognat from my grand vater. can you guess how much it is worth? thank you
I assume this is a 70 or 75cl bottle, VSOP, Le Choix de la Maison?
Not very much. I guess €40-50.
The cradle doesn’t add much to the value.
My father passed away and among his things we found this bottle. He used to own a bar, so I’m guessing it came from there at some point. Can you tell me anything about it? It’s actual age? Value?
Distilled in 1914, ladies vintage or “l’année des dames”. All the men were fighting in the war, so that year the women did all the work. It’s a good vintage year.
This one was probably bottled in the 1970s, maybe 1960s. I would expect it to fetch between 700 and 1.000 euro’s on an auction.
Kind regards,
Ton
Hello Again,
here you fill attached a picture of the full bottle hope this helps.
Best,
Franz
This bottle from Pinet-Castillon is a special, which means it is a very young cognac, comparable with three star quality.
The colour of the glass and the bottles shape (Alsace shape) suggest that the cognac was bottled in a period where glass was scarce. I wonder what material the capsule is made of? Paper maybe?
The font that is used is also not common for Pinet.
Also the reference to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 is puzzling. If this bottle is from around 1940-50s, which I think it is, why would they print that so many years later.
I’ll see if I can find more info, but for now I think it is 1940s or early 1950s.
HI,
I have this bottle of Pinot Castillon & Co and would like to know its approximate age.
Thank you for time
Franz Schad
It is almost impossible to estimate the age from the label alone.
Maybe if you add a picture of the whole bottle?
Ton
I am trying to find information about a bottle of Pinet Castillon brandy. The top of the bottle has the house name + est 1814 + 3 barrels stamp. The bottom of the bottle has the letters VMB in the glass. It is a Napoleon brandy. Thankyou for your assistance
Can you post a picture of the bottle?