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

When Turkish-American data artist Refik Anadol was commissioned to reimagine the VSOP Privilège bottle, Hennessy handed him a cognac built on a deliberate technical transgression: unlike most major houses, Hennessy distills both with and without lees, then folds heads and tails back into the brouillis before the second Charentais pot-still pass — a choice that concentrates congeners and drives the house's characteristically assertive, dark-fruited depth. The VSOP draws from all four premier crus — Grande Champagne (shallow clay-limestone chalk, prized for long-aging finesse), Petite Champagne, Borderies (clay-flint, rounder and nuttier), and Fins Bois — each contributing a distinct textural register to the final blend. Fermentation uses native wild yeast only, no added sugar or sulphur, producing a lean 8–10% ABV base wine whose high acidity survives double distillation intact. Aging proceeds in Limousin oak barrels hand-cooperaged at Hennessy's own Cognac facility (400–500 barrels per year, staves from 80+-year-old trees in Hennessy's own forests), with eaux-de-vie rotated across 65 chais — riverside cellars yielding mellower spirit, drier inland chais adding grip. The VSOP's minimum four-year age requirement is met across a multi-eaux-de-vie blend assessed annually by the Fillioux family, sole Master Blender lineage for eight consecutive generations — over 200 unbroken years. Bottled at 40% ABV, lightly filtered. The Anadol edition adds no production change; the collectibility is entirely in the vessel.