Hine Rare French Cognac, Smooth & Elegant Fine Champagne Cognac, Best Enjoyed Neat, Rare Hine Cognac, Grande & Fine Region Grapes, Fruity & Floral Cognac, 70cl, 40% ABV

Product Information

The resulting juice is then double-distilled in a copper pot still, which creates a young spirit known as eau de vie (translation: “water of life”). Hailing from the Cognac region in Southwest France, it’s hard to look past names like Hennessy, Rémy Martin, and Pierre Ferrand when you’re searching for the best. However, our list below will uncover a few brands you’ve likely never heard of to teach you a thing or two along the way as well. Once you’ve finished reading our review, feel free to peruse our wide range of related content such as the following resources: Our identity is drawn from the heart of two Premier Crus: Grande Champagne & Petite Champagne. Distillation with the lees concentrate the aromas of our white wines tenfold. Light toasted fine-grained wood barrels preserve our cognac's authentic personality that is celebrated around the world. These grapes must come from one of six different terroirs in the Cognac region of Southwest France.

Being such a versatile style of Cognac, Hine Rare could play so many different roles as a pairing option. I would highly recommend a little experiment, putting your bottle of Hine Rare VSOP into the freezer overnight, and then enjoy it neat to accompany certain meals. Seafood, for example, goes particularly well with this ice-cold serve: salmon tartare or a super fresh ceviche would make for a sensational experience that will enlighten your taste buds.I mean I shouldn’t complain; it quite clearly says hints of violet and jasmine, but it really detracts and distracts me from the palate. Not for me.

It’s all too easy to rhapsodise about the quality and complexity of the classic XO (Extra Old) and Hors d’Age Cognac expressions. This is conveniently forgetting that roughly two-thirds of the Cognac consumed on the planet is from the VS (Very Special) and VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) classifications. After a couple of minutes, the astringency takes a more prominent role on the palate. It reveals layers upon layers of depth, just to balance off the caramelly, raisiny fruit-sweetness. The creamy mouthfeel and texture translate into rich marzipan and white nougat. All in all, this is a rather complex tasting experience, despite this being a VSOP and not a prestige XO bottling. When the cognac finally lands in the bottle, its adjoining age statement denotes the youngest vintage in the blend. There are three general age statements:Hine strongly believes that it is impossible to have a good cognac without first having fantastic wine, and that terroir is more important than having a strong oak flavour. This is the reason that, even though they only produce 40,000 cases (12 bottles per case) a year, they own 120 hectares of vineyards. To put that into context, Hennessy– 55% of the buyer market ­– has 200 hectares yet produce 8.5 million cases. Hine’s profusion of grapes means that, as well as their staple blended range, they are able to produce single estate expressions and regularly release vintage Cognacs that have been aged to perfection before bottling.