Hine releases 2006 single vintage Cognac

Hine is continuing its focus on terroir with the launch of a 2006 single vintage, single estate expression crafted using grapes grown in Grande Champagne.

Domaines Hine Bonneuil 2006 is a single estate, single harvest, and single cask Cognac

Domaines Hine Bonneuil 2006 follows the launch of a 2005 iteration in 2014, which was the first in Hine’s new range of Cognacs made exclusively using grapes grown in the Grande Champagne enclave of Bonneuil.

The range focuses on terroir, rather than age, and consists of Cognacs crafted from a single Bonneuil harvest that are bottled and numbered as single casks without caramel colouring.

A total of 19 casks of the 2006 harvest have been made available – the equivalent of about 8,500 bottles – with an abv of 42%.

For Hine, the range increases the innovation offering in Cognac, emphasising the provenance of its raw ingredients rather than the maturation process.

“Cognac is quite a static category because of all the rules around it,” said Per Even Allaire, sales director for the brand.

“But we have been innovating for a long time. The fact that we can think outside the box within the appellation is appreciated by consumers because we do not have much room for that.

“Outside of packaging, product innovation isn’t easy in our region. But we think the Domaines Hine Bonneuil range is quite refreshing. It isn’t unheard of, but it’s certainly not usual.”

Further Domaine Hine Bonneuil vintages will be launched when cellarmaster Eric Forget deems the vintage good enough. As such, the house will not launch a 2007 single vintage.

The range is unique in Grande Champagne due to its relatively young age. Hine claims that while most Cognacs from this region are bottled at around 20-years-old, it wanted the “freshness” of the vines to be clearly detectable in the final product.

Domaines Hine Bonneuil 2006, said to have a “bigger flavour” than the 2005 expression, will be available later this summer at an RRP of £80.00.

Hine owns a 120-hectar estate in Bonneuil, Grande Champagne, 70 hectars of which are filled with vines. The area, which Hine acquired from Jesseron 13 years ago, provides about a third of the grapes used in Hine’s production, with the rest sourced from contract growers and winemakers.