Distillerie
La Monnerie

The moment you enter our cellars, the odour interrogates you: should you stay quiet and just taste, or speak up and share? Come and partake in an authentic experience in which you will learn all about the production of AOC Calvados in our cellars that are home to 100-year-old casks.

The his­tory of Maison Legay, that sits tucked away in the heart of the Orne Bocage in Normandy, is the story of a family who has been dis­tilling since 1920. Dis­til­ler­ie La Mon­ner­ie is spe­cial­ised in the pro­duc­tion of old Calvados, cider and Pom­meau. The dis­til­lery wel­comes vis­it­ors to its cel­lars in Cerisy-Belle-Etoile, at the foot of the Mont de Cerisy, in the Suisse Nor­mand area of Normandy where it has been loc­ated for three gen­er­a­tions. We very much value our envir­on­ment and our terroir of hedgerows, mead­ows and orchards.

Our grand­fath­er, Con­stant, was the person who star­ted it all. Born in 1891, Con­stant had a strong per­son­al­ity and a great appet­ite for life. A man with an inquir­ing mind and very much ahead of his time, he decided to acquire some land on which to plant an orch­ard of apple trees and to start dairy farm­ing. Our father, Rémy, took over from him in 1960, along with his wife Suz­anne, who would ensure a smooth han­dover to their son.

Didier Legay, Constant’s grand­son, helped by his wife Isa­belle, farms the land in Cerisy-Belle-Etoile and con­tin­ues the tra­di­tion of Calvados pro­duc­tion using the same still, which is over 100 years old and a wit­ness to the lives of our forefathers.

Today, our orch­ards extend over 13 hec­tares, on acidic silty soil, and we have two types: tra­di­tion­al high stem trees (under which the cows graze peace­fully) and low stem trees where the grass is reg­u­larly mown.

We still prac­tice mixed agri­cul­ture with dairy pro­duc­tion. As our two sons are now work­ing with us on the farm, the fourth gen­er­a­tion is already lined up to take over.

How lucky we are to be work­ing as a family and to hand down this shared love of the land, from father to son. Each gen­er­a­tion has been able to trans­mit this family pas­sion and her­it­age which is reflec­ted in the style and taste of our Calvados. Each has its own per­son­al­ity, com­plex­ity and temperament.

Our Calvados is aged in French oak bar­rels, cre­at­ing a con­stant exchange between the eau-de-vie, the wood and the air, and thus devel­op­ing won­der­fully del­ic­ate and rich woody aromas in the Calvados.
We have a large selec­tion of Calvados in our cellar, from the fruit­i­est to the oakiest.

Come along and explore our world, where our family has been devel­op­ing its savoir-faire and ensur­ing the qual­ity of its products since 1920.

The tour is always con­duc­ted by one of the estate’s man­agers to ensure you hear from someone with real know­ledge about our pro­duc­tion processes.