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Story

The fifth largest cognac house and the biggest family-owned cognac company, Camus was founded with grand aspirations as “La Grande Marque” by wine maker Jean-Baptiste Camus in 1863 when he organised a group of producers to sell cognac under one name. He later added his own name and despite its size, the company remains a family concern with Cyril Camus, great-great grandson of Jean-Baptiste now managing the company.

Five generations

Jean-Baptiste Camus (1835–1901) was an independent winegrower and distiller who sold his cognac to larger cognac houses until 1863 when he set up a consortium of producers with stocks to guarantee a quality of mature cognac to sell under La Grande Marque name. Jean-Baptiste bought his partners’ shares to create Camus La Grande Marque.

Brothers Edmond (1859–1933) and Gaston Camus (1865–1945) were the sons of Jean-Baptiste. Edmond, his eldest son, started in the company as a Master Blender in 1894. He drove quality and innovation and was among the first to sell cognac in labelled bottles instead of barrels. His younger brother, Gaston, joined the company in 1896 and dramatically improved export sales, particularly to Russia, where Camus became the official cognac of the Court of the last Tsar.

Michel Camus (1911–1985) joined the house in 1932 when he was only 21 and is noted for establishing Camus' important duty free business in the early 1960s, particularly by creating gift presentations with Limoges porcelain and Baccarat crystal decanters. He was the first to promote Napoléon quality cognac in a signature frosted bottle.

Jean-Paul Camus (born 1945) joined the company in 1977 to help his father as Master Blender. Focussing mainly on Borderies, he purchased new vineyards, distilleries and increased the house’s storage capacity. Like his father, Michel, he concentrated on duty-free sales and the Asia-Pacific region. Camus Napoleon became the best-selling cognac in Japan.

Cyril Camus (born 1971) completed his degree in business at Babson College in the US before joining Camus in 1994 as the company’s Trade Relations Director in Beijing, China. He returned to Cognac in 1998 as Marketing Director and developed the house’s signature Borderies XO. He took over from his father as President in 2004 and subsequently developed the Camus Elegance range.

Camus Cognac

Status: Operational
Fundação: 1863
Proprietário: Family owned
Capacidade: Not supplied
Política de visitas: Visitors welcome throughout the year
Tel: +33 5 45 32 28 28
website: Camus Cognac
Endereço: 29 rue Marguerite de Navarre, Cognac, 16100
Camus Very Special image

Camus Very Special

One of a new range of Camus cognacs produced using their ˝Instensity˝ distillation process to produce intensely aromatic cognacs. Launched in April 2019,

Camus VSOP image

Camus VSOP

Launched in April 2019, Camus VSOP is one of a range of Camus cognacs produced using their ˝Instensity˝ distillation process to produce intensely aromatic

Camus XO image

Camus XO

Camus XO is one of a new range of Camus cognacs produced using their ˝Instensity˝ distillation process to produce intensely aromatic cognacs launched

Camus VSOP Borderies image

Camus VSOP Borderies

A limited edition single-cru and single estate cognac made exclusively with grapes from Camus owned vineyards in Borderies.

Camus XO Borderies image

Camus XO Borderies

A limited edition single-cru and single-estate XO cognac produced using grapes from the most prized vines in Borderies vineyards owned by Camus.

Camus Extra image

Camus Extra

Originally released to celebrate the Millennium, Camus Extra is blended from cognacs between 30 and 50 years old and is presented in an elegant crystal

Camus Extra Dark & Intense image

Camus Extra Dark & Intense

Released in 2015, Camus Extra Dark and Intense is a blend of Cognacs, particularly from Fine Champagne and Borderies crus, aged between 30 and 50 years.

Camus Île de Ré Fine Island image

Camus Île de Ré Fine Island

A cognac made from grapes grown on Île de Ré, an island off the west coast of France in the Bois à Terroirs cru, the most westerly region of the Cognac

Camus Ile de Ré Double Matured image

Camus Ile de Ré Double Matured

The eaux-de-vie are first matured in a damp cellar on Ile de Ré then transported to Cognac where they are re-casked in very old barrels which have been

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