Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilege Cognac (Limited Edition) By UVA (700 ml)

In 1870, Maurice Hennessy created the XO category for family and friends — the same instinct for internal excellence that governs the VSOP Privilege today, where the Fillioux family, in its eighth consecutive generation as sole Master Blender, selects from roughly 10,000 assessed eaux-de-vie annually to build the blend. The sourcing spans four crus: Grande Champagne's shallow clay-limestone chalk (prized for slow oxidation and structural longevity), Petite Champagne, the clay-flint soils of Borderies, and the broader Fins Bois — each cru contributing a distinct textural register. Distillation is performed in traditional Charentais copper pot stills, double-pass, retaining only the coeur at ~70% ABV; critically, Hennessy distills both with and without lees and reintroduces heads and tails into the brouillis before the second pass — a deliberate congener-loading decision that sets the house apart from Martell (lees-free) and produces measurably darker fruit and spice depth. Aging proceeds in Limousin oak, including barrels hand-cooperaged on-site from Hennessy's own 80-plus-year-old forest stock, bottled at 40% ABV with light filtration. The VSOP minimum of four years' aging, drawn from cellars along the humid Charente riverbank (mellower, rounder) and drier inland chais (more characterful), gives the blend its layered tension. The UVA limited-edition livery marks a collector collaboration without altering the liquid — the production signature remains unchanged.