Domaine des Forges was bought by Louis Vallein in 1791. In 1850, his grandson Georges Vallein set up a company for bottling and selling the estate’s cognac. He was not only the estate’s owner but also its distiller and bottler. As his son Paul never married, his nephew Louis Tercinier took over when he returned from WWI, developing the house’s renown abroad. After WWII, he was joined by his son Robert. Business flourished and the company began exporting to new markets in the 1980s. Since the 1990s, grape-growing work and bottling activities have been shared between his children Louis and Catherine. Today the house produces a comprehensive range of cognacs, including many highly sought-after vintage editions.