Want to buy a house in Charente? Now here's an offer....

Spring is definitely sprung here in the Charente and the temperatures are in the high twenties.

Last week we went with some friends (& ex clients) to La Tonnellerie riverside restaurant in Chateauneuf sur Charente for a long and lazy lunch.  It's a charming place in an idyllic spot with a small terrace and views out over the weir.

We slowly cooked in the sunshine whilst enjoying an excellent meal and David showed us a painting he had done to give as a gift to the owners of his favourite bar in Jarnac (pictured above).

I was blown away - it captures the essence and character of this typically French bar brilliantly.  David told me that he'd been commissioned to paint a house in Montpellier too.

This got me thinking that having a painting such as this of your dream home in France would be a superb gift.

Therefore, dear readers, my offer is that any of you who mandate me to find them a property this year (2012) will receive a unique and original oil painting of their new house (subject to David's availability) paid for by yours truly.

All you have to do is quote "David Hughes fine art" before signing my standard T&C's and, of course, my search has to prove successful!

Now there's an offer you won't find from any other buying agent or estate agent in France.

To see a gallery of David's work visit www.davidhughesfineart.co.uk.  Even if you already own a house in France you may want something to gaze at longingly while you're away from the place! 


www.cognacproperty.com

Charente Monopoly - which are the dream home locations?

Regular readers will know that my youngest daughter is a keen Monopoly player.  A career following in her father's illustrious footsteps beckons perhaps!

Recently we borrowed the "Charente" version and it was fascinating to see which towns & villages were deemed as the Whitechapel & Old Kent Road clones and which were deemed to be Mayfair & Park Lane.  I have no idea who took the final decisions but I'm guessing that a few local mayors got involved in the politics.

I have no problem with the two prime areas - Cognac as the highest value (€400) and Angouleme second (€350).  I love Cognac - the town not the digestif - and think that it's the perfect size with a real "buzz" all year round.  It has beautiful & ancient pedestrian streets, a lovely stretch of river, world class restaurants and a championship golf course.

Jarnac is unlucky not to share the slot next to Cognac but does take the place of Bond Street so you don't want to land there if it has houses or a hotel on it. In real life Jarnac is probably my favourite town in Charente with a simply gorgeous park and pretty riverside walks.

Where I would take issue is the ranking given to the villages of St Simon & Bassac which are in the light blue section just before the dreaded jail cell.  In reality these two small jewels sit beside the prettiest stretch of the Charente.

They are both no more than hamlets yet St Simon boasts its own popular bar/restaurant and Bassac hosts two of the best restaurants around - the Auberge de Condé and L'Essille.  I have had plenty of splendid meals with clients & friends in both.

That's a great word and so I'm going to use it again as the river between Chateaneuf and Cognac is simply splendid too.

With this in mind, why no place at all for Chateauneuf sur Charente?

Of course it's all good fun and fairly subjective - and the truth is that I get slaughtered by Downie Junior whether we play the traditional version or any of the newer derivatives.

Perhaps I should consider offering her a salaried partner position when she turns 12 next year.....

www.cognacproperty.com

The use of social media in the commercial property industry

Forgive me this indulgence.  My life post 2003 is purely geared towards the residential property market.

However, for 20 years before this it was a mixture of both commercial & residential property and I still like to keep in touch with what's going on.

The RICS have just issued this white paper on the use of social media and it makes fascinating reading.  I met one of the authors (Bob Thompson) a couple of times while I was at Chesterton and he's always worth listening to.  He also references a professional services marketeer called Kim Tasso who is also seen as one of the most passionate and brightest lights in the industry.

You can download the report here and it's a good read whether you're interested in offices, shops & sheds or not.

That's it....normal service will be resumed shortly and I'll be writing about the much smaller (but ultimately sunnier) world in and around Cognac again soon.

www.cognacproperty.com

Cognac marathon man causes some snickers

Running twenty six miles has never appealed to me but we do always turn out as a family to support those hardy souls who run the annual Cognac marathon.

This year was no different and Saturday saw us lined up by the finish line at the quay in Jarnac applauding all kinds of folk.  The biggest cheer (and the odd wolf-whistle) was for a burly charentaise farmer kitted out in a bunny girls outfit with just a small white fluffy tail covering his fish-netted derriere.

The second biggest was for a local runner, and good friend of mine, Jean-Francois Blaineau who came in third behind a couple of seriously good runners from Paris & Spain. 

Watching him sprint for the finish and give an effortless radio interview afterwards it was easy to forget the hard work he puts in.  I see him out on the road, at all times of year, always alone (no-one else could keep up) and always humble about his achievements. Go into his home though and you'll see his trophy cabinet absolutely full to the brim of cups and shields that he's won.

As well as "playboy man" there were plenty of others in fancy dress, running for charity, and some elder citizens that made me feel ashamed to be watching rather than participating.

Maybe next year eh....

www.cognacproperty.com

Charente - grape picking coming to an end

That's just about it for another year.

The vineyards have been battered and bruised into submission and the huge machines have rumbled back into their garages until next autumn.

Soon the vast green acres of vines will turn a brilliant mixture of red & gold - it's my favourite time of year as for a few precious weeks the landscape looks as though it's on fire once the sun starts to set each evening...it truly is specatcular.

Thoughts turn from summer pursuits and the mornings and evenings have suddenly become much colder. 

This year we're thinking about building a huge bonfire and having the girls make a guy so that we can invite all our French friends to celebrate the 5th November.

We haven't done it before and I think they'd love the roast chestnuts, fireworks and, of course, baked potatoes from the ashes of the bonfire.  I have such fond memories of this from when I was a child that it seems silly to let the fact that no-one in France has heard of Guy Fawkes to stop us.

www.cognacproperty.com

Grande Champagne cognac - "the best of the best"

I live in an area called "Grande Champagne" and it's slap bang in the heart of the cognac region.

Clients often ask about this area and where else you can grow grapes to produce cognac.

The region authorised to produce cognac is divided up into six zones which are, in order of decreasing appreciation of the cognacs coming from them:

Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bon Bois and finally Bois Ordinaire.

You can see from the map above that it's quite far reaching and doesn't follow departmental boundaries.

Now, obviously I'm biased but I'd say that the map above also highlights the best places to live in the area.

Grande Champagne hosts prime properties in the prettiest locations. Rolling hills, beautiful scenery and magical little villages.

I guess that "location, location, location" holds just as good for producing the world's finest drink as it does for the world of property.

www.cognacproperty.com

5 expensive cognacs that are worth the money

Excellent article from the good folk at www.cognac.com and you can read the full list here.

If you have the cash just hanging around you can also buy them directly from the website...just make sure you invite me round to taste them too.

One of my very best friends out here is now the cellar master at H Mounier. His family have been involved with the cognac business for generations and I often tell the story of the first time that he & his wife came to dinner.

We served our finest wines and all seemed to be going well until it came to the digestif. We'd bought a mid-range cognac from the supermarket but Christian took one look at it and said "wait a moment" before jumping in his car.

Five minutes later he was back with a bottle from his private cellar. Resplendent with hand crafted label it dated back to 1901 - the colour, texture, scent and taste were exquisite and lingered on the glass long after we had finished.

He told me to keep the bottle but to only drink it with special friends on special occasions.

We've dined together hundreds of times since but although I've hinted often (and asked straight out at times) he's never repeated that incredible gesture.

www.cognacproperty.com

French grape picking season begins

The "vendange" or annual grape picking season started this week-end.

It's an important couple of weeks for the whole cognac region. An excellent harvest brings higher sales and prosperity for the farmers and the myriad related industries in the area. A poor harvest and the outlook would be as gloomy as an album by Morrissey.

In all over 75,000 hectares of vines will be harvested in the charente and charente-maritime.

We have become firm friends with one of our local viticulteurs and the good news is that he's pretty optimistic that 2009 is going to be a good year. Those are his vines in the pic above - you can't buy his cognac, "Chez Bacou", in the shops but if you're ever passing this way you can buy it direct from his vineyard.....believe me, it's worth a visit.

The sleepy villages around us have come alive and we're woken at the crack of dawn by the huge picking machines rumbling off to work.

The roads become clogged with tractors pulling huge trailers filled to abundance with grapes and standing at the school gates all eyes are on the activity in the surrounding vines.

Picking lasts for 3-4 weeks and I enjoy this time of year so much that I'll be using our labrador as an excuse to get out into the vines at least two or three times every day throughout.

www.cognacproperty.com

Classic car rally comes to Angouleme

This year's "circuit des remparts" promises to be a cracker.

It's on 18-20 September and plans are afoot to recreate the grid the crowds witnessed at the first Ramparts race in Angouleme in 1939, with many of the classic cars being sourced from collections and museums.

Expect also to see vintage cars working their way round the famous hairpins and Touring and GT cars power sliding round this tight Angouleme street circuit.

Hotels in Angouleme have been sold out for months but, if you're thinking of coming, you should be OK in near-by Jarnac or Cognac.

You don't need to be a "petrol head" to enjoy the spectacle...after all who can resist smiling at the thought of seeing so many Terry Thomas lookalikes in one place together.

www.cognacproperty.com

waiting for my .......@gs.com enquiries

Interesting article from the Sunday Times about the return of the bonus culture in the city.

Any of you bankers at Goldman Sachs (or indeed any other financial institutions) looking for an innovative way of spending your money should look no further.

Not only is Cognac renowned throughout the world as the home of Remy Martin, Courvoisier, Hennessy and Martell but it's a beautiful town in it's own right. Just look at what it has to offer:

• second sunniest part of France


• airport with direct flights to the UK


• TGV access to central London


• Glorious chateau's with views over the vineyards or townhouses in the historic old quarter


• choice of michelin restaurants or sampling the rustic 10€ local "plat de jour"


• the caché associated with one of the worlds top 10 brands

So, @GS people, it's time for an investment that you can make with your heart as well as your head.

Just imagine the envious looks on your colleagues faces as you sneak away from the dealing desks to compare your week-end pad in Cognac with their dull old bolt holes in Cornwall or Shropshire.

www.cognacproperty.com

Guide to markets in Poitou Charentes

Markets play such a huge part in life over here that it's worth looking at this handy guide to where & when you will find them in Poitou Charentes.

We were in Cognac last Saturday and strolling through the market place with friends they were astonished at the diversity of stalls....and then even more surprised when they found a "British" stall selling a range of stock including some incredibly expensive walnut whips (which we bought because we hadn't eaten them for 10 years or so - they're a lot smaller than I remember!).

I guess having a British stand over here is just the same as seeing a specialist French, Italian or Chinese deli in London but it does seem strange.

Now, if only they'd bring back bovril crisps and refreshers!

www.cognacproperty.com

A guide to the famous cognac houses

We're spoilt for choice here when it comes to visiting the great cognac houses.

Hennessy, Martell, Courvoisier they all offer something different on their tours so here's a quick guide as to our personal favourites.

Let's start with Remy Martin as it's the first tour we did. They are based just outside cognac town centre and the highlight is a "little train" tour around the manicured grounds and through the cellars. Of course it finishes with a tasting (accompanied by some tasty little cakes) and the chance to splash out €1500 on a bottle of Louis XIII....which is the cognac that Bryan Brown & Tom Cruise immortalised in the film called Cocktail.

If you want to stay in cognac town centre try Hennessy who sell more than 40% of the worlds cognac. You can find them on the quayside and this means that during the tour you get a chance to go on their private launch and cross the river to view the cellars. They have just released a special edition of VS cognac to commemorate the inauguration of Barack Obama with a black label, gold lettering and "In honour of the 44th president" written on it.

Staying in the heart of the town centre you can visit the Otard chateau. Less well known than the others it has the prettiest setting and the family origins date back to 849. The chateau was built between the 13th and 16th centuries and was the birthplace of Fraancois 1er.

Finally how about visiting the stunning Courvoisier HQ set on the banks of the river charente in Jarnac (about 10 mins from Cognac). They use the familiar outline of Napoleon Bonaparte for their marketing claiming that it was his favourite drink (and who am I to argue). It's a truly beautiful setting for a cognac tour and Jarnac has plenty of other attractions to offer on a day out.

There are plenty of other big brand names to try out but these are the ones we like best. Try them all on a rainy day but just make sure that someone else is driving!

www.cognacproperty.com