We'll take you on a tour Domaine du Coquerel

Located just a few kilometers from Mont-Saint-Michel as the crow flies, Domaine du Coquerel has specialized in Calvados since 1937. Follow us to find out more about this family-run business combining innovation and tradition.

A bit of history

In 1937, René Gilbert established Coquerel calvados in the Manoir du Coquerel, near Mont-Saint-Michel.

Between 1971 and 1990, Asbach & Cie, headed by François Martin, acquired the distillery and undertook major renovation and expansion work. Under their management, calvados production flourished, exceeding one million bottles by the end of the 1980s. In 1991, the distillery was acquired by the English company United Distillers (now Diageo). After working there for several years, Jean-François Martin bought the Coquerel distillery in 1996. The tradition continues in 2014 with Pierre Martin Neuhaus, the third generation of the family to join the company.

Manufacturing secrets du Calvados

In the heart of verdant orchards, Angéline, the estate’s tourism manager, has arranged to meet us in front of the Manoir du Coquerel, an imposing 18th-century Gothic building, for a tour of the calvados distillery.

It all starts with the storage bins, where apples harvested by local growers are dumped. The fruit is washed and sorted before being sent for pressing and fermentation, a large hangar where several employees bustle about in the sweet scent of hot apple juice.

At the entrance to the distillery stands a huge foudre, a wooden barrel whose capacity is measured in hectolitres. Under Angéline’s amused gaze, we can’t resist the temptation to take a photo of ourselves in front of it, just to appreciate the scale of grandeur. Inside the distillery, the smell of calvados grows stronger. From the spouts of the stills comes a 70-degree calvados, which is then diluted to around 40 degrees before being put into barrels.

Well sheltered in the coolness of the cellar, the young eaux-de-vie rest in carefully aligned oak barrels, ageing slowly and developing all their aromas. A visit to the cellars adds a historical dimension to our experience. The oak barrels tell the story of the passing of time and the transmission of the centuries-old expertise of the region’s master distillers.

The tour ends with a tasting of calvados, pommeau and “Normindia” gin, a unique gin flavored with Indian spices and the brainchild of Pierre Coquerel, the third generation at the helm of this family business.

Between fruity notes, a light vanilla taste and aromatic roundness, this tasting of complex varieties reveals the subtle nuances of Normandy’s terroir. Domaine du Coquerel combines tradition with innovation.