Cognac Hine, Jarnac
While on vacation in France to celebrate the 60th birthday of the greatest legend of all — my mum — I asked my friend Tom Brady if he knew someone who could open the doors of a prestigious Cognac distillery for me, as my family has been living in the region for the past 11 years (farewell, Champagne!).
At the last minute, Tom connected me with Quitterie Perrachon, who kindly put me in touch with Roxanne, the wonderful hospitality manager at Hine.
As Roxanne generously allowed me to bring a guest, I decided to invite another legend: Jean Marquizeau from Jonzac—former Cognac producer, neighbour to my parents, and a dear friend.
We had a fantastic time exploring the historic chai of Hine, a house dedicated to craftsmanship since 1763 in Jarnac, just 500 meters from the massive Courvoisier headquarters. Nestled in the heart of the two Premier Crus of the Cognac region—Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne—Hine focuses on distillation with the lees, which intensifies the aromas of their white wines tenfold. Their approach to aging is equally meticulous: instead of using the more common Limousin oak, which they find too tannic, they prefer lightly toasted fine-grained oak from Normandy, Paris, Limoges, and the Ardennes. This preserves the authentic personality and finesse of their Cognacs.
Interestingly, Hine is also experimenting with the Folle Blanche grape—something I’m eager to taste more of in the future. My friend Jean, with his deep knowledge of Cognac, reminded me that while Ugni Blanc dominates at 99%, both Colombard and Folle Blanche are also legally permitted. In fact, a few lesser-known grape varieties can be used as “cépages d’appoint”, including Blanc Ramé, Jurançon Blanc, Montils, Sémillon, and even a rare grape called Sélect.
With a strong focus on quality, Hine doesn’t produce Pineau des Charentes or even a standard VS Cognac. They start with VSOP and were the first Cognac house to gain permission to produce Single Estate Cognac—something we had the pleasure of tasting at the end of our visit.
I learned so much from Roxanne this morning that I couldn’t possibly share it all here, but feel free to reach out if you have any questions. What an absolute treat this experience was! And from the banks of the Charente, I raise my glass and toast to you—Santé!
We sale the Hine Rare VSOP, the Cigar Reserve and the ANTIQUE XO in our shops 🙂
