X.O. Chinese New Year 2024 Limited Edition (700 ml)

Maurice Hennessy created the XO category in 1870 — not for commerce, but as a private blend for family and friends — establishing the very classification tier this bottle now occupies. That founding act of personal generosity makes the annual Lunar New Year limited edition a fitting continuation: a gift object rooted in a gift-giving origin. The eaux-de-vie in this blend are drawn from Hennessy's four primary crus across Charente and Charente-Maritime — the shallow clay-limestone chalk of Grande Champagne contributing the structural backbone suited to long aging, the clay-flint of Borderies adding characteristic roundness, and Fins Bois supplying aromatic freshness. Cellars positioned along the humid banks of the Charente River mellow the spirit over years; drier inland chais develop more assertive character. The production signature is deliberate: Hennessy distills both with and without lees in traditional Charentais copper pot stills, and reintroduces heads and tails into the brouillis before the second distillation — a technique that concentrates congeners and drives the house's characteristically dense, dark-fruited depth. The XO assembles over 100 eaux-de-vie aged up to approximately 30 years in Limousin oak, sourced partly from Hennessy's own forests where trees must reach 80+ years before felling. The 2024 CNY vessel is the special feature: a collector's limited-edition bottle designed for the Year of the Dragon, bottled at 40% ABV, lightly filtered. The eighth-generation Fillioux Master Blender lineage — 200+ unbroken years — selects from roughly 10,000 eaux-de-vie assessed annually by the Tasting Committee.