The secrets: The kind of old-fashioned, small-lot, artisanal distilling all but abandoned by the big Cognac houses, and the added fruit character of the local pinot noir.
But what it gave us, with its short, 200-foot block lengths and small, 20- to 25-foot lot sizes, its direct and easy navigability, is a walkable, personal city at human scale, where every street is an endlessly varied and inviting series of visual experiences, of constantly changing shopfronts, restaurants and buildings of infinite styles and uses.