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Explore France Holiday Guides Charente-Maritime 2008-2009 Discover the Charente
| Discover the Charente |
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Historically hospitable, the
Charente has been home or
host to farming Gauls, conquering
Romans, weary pilgrims and
valiant Knights Templar, warring
nobles, craftsmen and merchants. Buffeted by Crusades, periods of secession from the French throne, the Religious Wars, the Revolution and a recent ‘invasion’ of English-speaking settlers, the Charente charms with its soothing patchwork of rural landscapes liberally dotted with little villages and towns where traditional life seems to carry on regardless.  The Charente is one of four départements making up the region of Poitou-Charentes with the Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. Convenient for sightseeing, the Charente’s human scale means you are never more than a day trip from anywhere else in the département. Each little area has distinctive features but all have a generous share of river, whether it is the Charente, the Vienne, Bandiat, Tardoire, Dronne, Issoire, Touvre, Argentor, Son, Sonnette, Guirlande, Couture, Nouère, Lien, Né, Trèfle, Pharon, Échelle, Eaux-Claires or the Marchandaine. With near on 400 Romanesque churches, the Charente has a rich legacy of Romanesque art, and all variations are represented. Angoulême’s Saint- Pierre cathedral is an absolute must, as is the monumental abbey at Saint-Amand-de-Boixe, the stonework in the church of Saint-Denis at Lichères, the towering belfry of Lesterps abbey, the animalia at Notre-Dame de Courcôme, Châteauneufsur- Charente’s equestrian statue, the abbey at Châtres near Saint-Brice and Plassac-Rouffiac’s church where the facade has been used as a model for many other churches.  From the South Charente with its echoes of the nearby Dordogne, to the gently sloping vineyards and finely wrought stone mansions of the wealthy cognac-producing West Charente, through the sleepy valleys and riverside villages of the flatter Ruffécois, to the hillier pine and fir forests of the Haute-Charente on the borders of the Limousin, the caves and rock formations in the Horte-et- Tardoire, you are always within easy reach of the Angoumois in the centre, radiating around the capital – préfecture – Angoulême.  The locals are relaxed, easy to talk to, down-to-earth and often show off that special Charentais sense of humour which consists in poking fun at themselves. The French traditionally consider the Charentais as somewhat laid-back, loudmouthed and zany. They are stereotyped by allusion to their most famous products – cognac and the homely Charentaise slipper. Take great care not to confuse a native of the Charente with one from the Charente-Maritime – local chauvinism reminiscent of Kentish men and Men of Kent. With a well-conserved yet domesticated countryside and virtually every food product available fresh from the woods, fields, rivers and nearby ocean, the Charentais is generally quite happy with his peaceful lot.  In winter time, the Cognac area exudes a very particular atmosphere, with more than 2,000 stills boiling away, night and day: a combination of the fires, boiling and evaporating alcohol, water, the rotund copper stills and ruddy bricks, this is known as the chauffes. To concentrate the ‘heart’ of the cognac and to eliminate certain undesirable elements generated at the beginning and end of the process, the result of the first distillation, première chauffe, giving the brouillis, is redistilled – la bonne chauffe. ;
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</script> "Image") The eau-de-vie must then become cognac by maturing slowly in oak barrels. The tannin from the oak gradually penetrates the eau-de-vie, giving it a golden colour. Over the decades in the chai, the cognac breathes in air which further deepens the colour to dark brown. Now the cellar master’s art is to decide which ‘young’ cognacs will best blend with which vintage ones. The ultimate blend is transferred to very old barrels, or to glass flagons called dames-jeannes (hence demi-johns). There is no turning back after this step, which halts the ageing process by depriving the cognac of air. They then go toa very dark chai called Paradise, where they rest in peace. To appreciate the magic of this transformation, nothing beats a trip around one of the great cognac houses. 
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