Napoleon Fine Vieille Extra
⏳ Drinking Window
As a fully matured, high-quality Cognac, it is bottled at its peak and does not improve with bottle age, remaining stable and pristine for decades.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Dark chocolate desserts, blue cheese, roasted duck
✨ Technical Specifications
Hine's Napoleon Fine Vieille Extra is a historic bottling that showcases the house's mastery of blending and aging. The 'Napoleon' designation in Cognac carries a romantic history, traditionally associated with spirits aged well beyond the minimum requirements to achieve a mature, complex character. Sourced from the prestigious premier crus of Grande and Petite Champagne, this expression benefits from the region's signature chalky soils, which impart unparalleled finesse and longevity. Hine's signature style—focused on elegance, floral delicacy, and restrained oak influence—is fully realized here. The spirit undergoes traditional double distillation in Charentais copper pot stills before resting in fine-grained French oak casks in Hine's historic cellars along the Charente River. This slow maturation coaxes out complex notes of dried fruits, soft spices, jasmine, and the coveted rancio, making it a testament to the house's centuries-old craftsmanship.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1763 along the banks of the Charente River in Jarnac, Thomas Hine & Co. represents one of Cognac's most distinguished artisanal houses, underscored by being the sole cognac house to hold a British Royal Warrant since 1962. Hine centers its philosophy on the premier crus of Grande and Petite Champagne, farming 115 hectares across the chalk-dominant, undulating hillsides of Bonneuil under certified sustainable practices (HVE and CEC). Under long-standing Cellar Master Eric Forget, the house champions the belief that monumental cognac begins as pristine white wine. Vinified exclusively from Ugni Blanc, the wines undergo double distillation on fine lees in traditional Charentais copper pot stills, followed by aging in lightly toasted, fine-grained French oak casks to preserve floral vivacity and mineral nuance. Renowned for its single-estate and single-vintage bottlings, Hine is celebrated globally for benchmarks such as Antique XO Premier Cru, Homage Grand Cru, and its legendary Early Landed vintages matured in humid British cellars.
🍇 Base Material
Ugni Blanc
🍷 ABV
40%