Charente by Heather Brice

 

The Charente..........back in the year 1515 when he became King of France, François 1er declared The Charente to be the most beautiful river in all his kingdom.

The name Charente actually comes from the old gallic word meaning ‘sandy’, and when you say it even the word sounds soft and relaxing, soothing and peaceful. The River Charente slowly and softly meanders through the vines, woodlands and watermeadows of the area in just the same way.

The Charente is of course also the name of the department..... one of the four departments that make up the region of Poitou-Charentes.

The houses and other buildings in the Charente have very pleasing proportions, and are constructed with the local creamy Charentais stone. The orange fleshed and divinely scented Charentais melons are known and appreciated worldwide, and throughout France the best slippers for relaxing and generally taking it easy are called Charentaises!

Originally the area covered by the Charente extended to the sea but then for administrative reasons it was divided into two separate areas, the Charente and Charente Inférieur.

The area near the sea was ostensibly named 'inférieur' because the land was lower lying. In ancient times trade was plied up and down the River Charente, from the coastal port of Rochefort, by flat bottomed vessels known as gabares which transported first salt and then later, wine. The wine from the lower regions was labelled ‘inférieur’.... obviously not very helpful to business! In 1941 the name Charente Inférieur was changed to Charente Maritime, immediately improving the image of the neighbouring department.

However a glance at the map of the departmental boundaries shows that parts of the Charente department are in fact nearer the sea than some places in the ‘Maritime’ department: significantly, the small but historically influential town of Cognac has been kept within the boundaries of the Charente department, even though it creates a slightly strange bulbous addition to the generally north to south division.

The chief departmental town of the Charente is the cathedral city of Angoulême, built on a hill overlooking the Charente and the Anguienne rivers. Angoulême has some wonderful architecture and beautiful views from its elevated position surrounded by ancient stone city ramparts.

Then, towards the sea, 45 kms to the West of Angoulême, lies the birthplace of King François the First, Cognac.

Cognac

Again there is the double usage of names.....Cognac the town or Cognac the drink? This small but very prosperous town is the epicentre of cognac production, and the history and enduring appeal of cognac the drink is linked inextricably with the town.

Despite the size of the town, which has only around 20,000 inhabitants, Cognac the drink has a worldwide reputation. Back in ancient times it was found that the wine from the fertile vineyards around Cognac did not travel all that well, so a process of double distillation was developed (much of this progress was due to incoming Irish, English and Dutch,) becoming known firstly as cooked or burnt wine, with the name eventually becoming ‘brandewijn’ wine from the Dutch, and then 'brandy'. However, please don’t say brandy to a Cognaçais ....... brandy only comes from other places and everyone here insists that it is an inferior product.

The grapes for Appellation Contrôlée Cognac can only be grown in the chalky soil in the certified vineyards in and around Cognac, and the ancient methods of gently producing and blending the mellow golden elixirs are closely guarded secrets. Even the town itself is marked by the history of cognac, seen as a dark tinge to the oldest stone buildings. Locals refer to this as the sign of the ‘angel’s share’, the 2% production loss caused by the cognac fumes in the air!

As you can imagine, there is plenty of choice of cognac producers to visit, both large and small. The bigger houses like Hennessy, Martell, Otard and Rémy Martin offer tours in several languages throughout most of the year, often with film presentations, river trips or train rides through the vines and usually ending in that all important tasting. Another famous cognac producer, Courvoisier can be found a few kms away up the river in the pretty little town of Jarnac.

For such a small town, Cognac really is a very civilised place: the romanesque and renaissance architecture, the beauty of the river, the parks with wonderful children’s play areas, town gardens, and the pedestrianised streets with pretty boutiques and tempting pavement cafés and restaurants - an ideal location for relaxing and taking the time to enjoy a different pace of life.

The area is blessed with a very agreeable climate, with short mild winters, early springs and warm sunny summers which often seem to extend into autumn and even right into November. The good weather allows lots of outdoor activities. Angoulême hosts a number of enjoyable events, of which the classic car rally that takes place around the ramparts on the streets of central Angoulême on a weekend in mid-September is probably the best known. And in Cognac, there's the 3 day Féte de Cognac in mid July, the fantastic 5 day Blues Passion Festival (blues, jazz and a smattering of rocky blues) with a marvellous atmosphere at the end of July, and the street theatre extravaganza, Coup de Chauffe which takes place in the town centre at the beginning of September. This is a sort of lucky dip with pyrotechnics, acrobats, original and amusing elements of the unexpected and more.

And of course, if all this is not enough, then remember that in the Charente department you are still an easy drive from the amazing Atlantic beaches........ so there really is something for everyone here!
 

 

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