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    Family Producer and Blender

    Gilles Merlet

    Family Producer and Blender, Distillerie Merlet

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    Family Producer and Blender
    Portrait of Gilles Merlet

    Portrait of Gilles Merlet

    i. Biography

    Gilles Merlet is the family distiller behind Maison Merlet in Saint-Sauvant, in France’s Cognac region, where he took over the distillery in 1973 and later expanded the house beyond cognac into fruit liqueurs and Pineau des Charentes. Sources also is a pioneer in the 1970s for planting blackcurrants and other fruits in the Cognac production area to develop cassis and related liqueurs. He continues to be associated with the family-run Merlet business, with his sons Pierre and Luc joining the company in 2005.

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