H by Hine VSOP (700 ml)

Thomas Hine arrived in Jarnac from Dorset in 1791, married into the founding négociant family, and built a house philosophy that Cognac is, before anything else, a great white wine — a conviction that still governs every blending decision at H by Hine VSOP. The limestone-chalk soils of Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne are the structural engine here: porous, free-draining chalk forces Ugni Blanc roots deep, concentrating acidity and aromatic tension rather than weight. Fermentation runs 7–9 days in temperature-controlled vats with native wild yeast, producing a dry base wine of ~7–8% ABV. The defining technical signature is double distillation conducted sur lies — on the fine lees — in traditional Charentais copper alembic pot stills, a deliberate Hine choice that deposits pastry roundness and textural depth into the spirit before a single day in wood. The blend assembles approximately 20 eaux-de-vie aged a minimum 4 years, beginning in lightly toasted new French fine-grained oak before transfer to seasoned refill casks to moderate tannin extraction. What separates Hine from every peer of comparable scale is the house's operational 'early-landed' Bristol maturation regime — a parallel ageing philosophy unavailable at any other major Cognac house — though H by Hine VSOP is the Jarnac-matured expression, delivering the richer, rancio-inflected register of that cellar. Bottled at 40% ABV with dilution introduced gradually over years.