V.S. Limited Edition Gold Bottle (700 ml)

When Maurice Hennessy devised the VS star-rating system in the 19th century, it became the industry standard adopted by every major Cognac house — a classification born at the Charente riverbank headquarters Richard Hennessy established in 1765. That founding ambition for legibility and quality anchors every batch of VS produced today. Eaux-de-vie are drawn from four crus — Grande Champagne's shallow clay-limestone chalk, the clay-flint of Borderies, Petite Champagne, and Fins Bois — each cru contributing distinct textural weight and aromatic register to the final blend. Fermentation uses native wild yeast, no added sugar or sulphur, producing a high-acid, low-ABV base wine (~8–10%) from Ugni Blanc. Double distillation in Charentais copper pot stills includes both lees-on and lees-off batches — unlike Martell, which never distills on lees — with heads and tails reintroduced to the brouillis before the second pass, concentrating congeners for the house's characteristically assertive depth. Initial aging in new Limousin oak from Hennessy's own forests (trees felled at 80+ years) drives the VS's dark-fruit and vanilla register. The gold bottle is a limited-edition presentation of the standard VS blend, bottled at 40% ABV with light filtration — no change to the liquid inside, making it the most accessible entry into a reserve of 350,000–470,000 casks curated by eight consecutive generations of the Fillioux blending family.