Hine Troimphe XO (700 ml)

Thomas Hine arrived in Jarnac from Dorset in 1791 and formalised the house in 1817 around a single conviction: great Cognac is, above all, a great white wine. That philosophy — prioritising vivacity and floral-fruit precision over oak weight — is nowhere more legible than in Triomphe XO. The blend draws exclusively from Grande Champagne, Cognac's innermost cru, where deep Cretaceous chalk-limestone soils force Ugni Blanc roots deep, concentrating acidity and aromatic tension rather than body. Hine's own Domaine de Bonneuil in the village of Bonneuil anchors the house's Grande Champagne sourcing. Fermentation runs 7–9 days in temperature-controlled vats with native wild yeast — no sulphites permitted under AOC rules — yielding a bone-dry base wine of ~7–8% ABV. Crucially, double distillation is conducted sur lies (on the fine lees), a deliberate Hine signature that introduces pastry depth and roundness before a single year of oak has passed. Aging begins in new, lightly toasted fine-grained French oak, then progresses into seasoned refill casks to moderate tannin extraction — the eaux-de-vie resting for over a decade in Jarnac's Chai des Millésimes, a cellar sitting 2 metres below the River Charente, where humidity swings between 70–90% and temperatures cycle from 6.5°C to 20.5°C, slowing oxidation and preserving floral lift. What sets Triomphe XO apart from virtually every peer at this tier is the house's refusal to blend in Petite Champagne for textural padding — 100% Grande Champagne at XO age is a commercial rarity that most négociants avoid on cost grounds. Bottled at 40% ABV with dilution added gradually over years.