Born in November 1926, into a very modest family whose father was a ward of the nation, he was not destined for great studies. He had three brothers, and once his school certificate in hand, he embarked on an apprenticeship in boilermaking, within the Chaignaud company, in Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, during the war. A period which allowed him to acquire enormous know-how in the manufacture of a still. But above all it allowed him to develop a love of a job well done, which will never leave him. “What he loved above all was building,” recalls Richard Prulho.
After the war, the man went to Germany to do his military service. On his return, having the right to a position within the SNCF, he went for it. For two years, he traveled throughout France as a mechanic on steam locomotives. After which, he decided to leave everything behind and return to Charente.
“Since he was unable to get an education, he married a teacher. »
Decisive encounters
His story is above all that of the encounters he met. At the end of the 1940s, with his first partner in Saint-Fort-sur-le Né, from whom he ended up buying the company’s shares to establish himself in Cognac. That of a very strong friendship, which pushed him to build a dozen stills in Italy, allowing him to repay his debts and invest to develop his business.
Romantic encounters also, with Monique, who became his wife. “My father admired people with degrees because they had an education that he couldn’t have,” says Richard Prulho. “Besides, since he was unable to get an education, he married a teacher,” he adds with a smile.
Towards the end of the 1960s, Robert Prulho became friends with an arts and crafts engineer. They worked together for several years and this relationship gave him a lot of additional knowledge about distilling and stills.
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The crisis of the 90s
Richard was born in 1958. To please his father, he pursued long and brilliant studies, ending up as an engineer in arts and crafts. He joined the family business in 1981 and together, they increased technical developments in distillation. Recognized know-how, but which was undermined during the terrible crisis which shook the vineyard in the 1990s. A difficult decade, during which Robert Prulho lost his wife, who was then mayor of Merpins, in 1996.
At the beginning of the 2000s, business was going badly and the company was then bought by the Chalvignac group, while Richard turned to trading. Robert will retain a role as a valuable advisor to his son, who himself has become his new pillar, after the disappearance of his wife. “His strength was his personality,” assures Richard Prulho.
The funeral of Robert Prulho will take place on Friday October 11 at 2:30 p.m., at the Sacré-Cœur church in Cognac. Burial will then take place in the Merpins cemetery.
