Fontagard, the origins
The hamlet of twelve souls
Fontagard, a tiny village. Protected by the chimeras that surround the door of a former coaching inn that now contains the cellars.
Fontagard, the name of the fountain which spouts pure water. It is all there, spanning just a few miles. Think local, create local, to skilfully fine tune and bring an entire avant-garde ecosystem to life. The idea was to completely preserve a place known as “the hamlet of twelve souls” and give it a new vision: to make Fontagard one of the first green distilleries in France.
The Fontagard distillery was created in 1878 and is one of the region’s most beautiful, if not the most beautiful. Ten stills operate using traditional methods. The process is arduous but true quality is priceless.
Transmission and know-how
For five generations
There are values that drive, guide and support. Since 1878, each generation of the Granchère family has transmitted its know-how and left its imprint.
For 30 years, Dominique developed the Fontagard distillery, turning it into a paragon of tradition and skill. Time has moved on, and it is now Adrien’s turn to lead the family business, guiding it towards new horizons with the distillation of a new spirit: Whisky de Fontagard.
Distillation, cellar work and blending are still carried out according to traditional methods. Though our equipment is state-of-the-art, we still rely on our noses and know-how as we go about our day-to-day work.
Local connection
Prioritising short supply systems
Our region’s terroir offers a bounty of flavours and resources. It was a natural and straightforward decision to call upon these short supply systems, whether we’re making our whiskies or working in the distillery or cellars.
We grow our barley on our fields near our distillery. Our ambition for the near future is to be able to control the entire production chain locally, from seed to bottle.
Environnement
Environment
We are keenly aware of how important it is to respect the environment, and we take active measures to protect it. For example, we recycle 100% of our effluents (liquid waste) and recover all our co-products. We are one of the pioneering distilleries in geothermal energy, and have drastically cut down our energy consumption.
For the same reason, we focus on using short supply systems to keep our carbon footprint to an absolute minimum.
We are aware of our limitations and comprehend the effort we still must make, but we are working every day to achieve our goal of becoming a zero-impact whisky. We have a clear vision to achieve that: Control all production stages.
The founders
Three enthusiasts focused on one project
This is the story of three teammates, three enthusiasts, three revolutionaries with their minds set on shaking up an entire world.
Together, they have created Whiskey de Fontagard, a unique Single Malt.
Adrien Granchere
It's an inspiration... and an expiration. A creator, a prolix visionary and a talent without measure.
Dominique Granchere
The almost, not yet, soon, not immediately retired. He is the soul of the distillery and the wise man of the team. Our Yoda.
Richard Lambert
Born self-taught. His head is in the stars but his feet are firmly planted. A relentless optimist, he is convinced that anything can be achieved if you want it to.
