Frapin debuts collectors’ edition VSOP Cognac
Single estate Cognac producer Frapin hopes to engage a younger generation with a new look for its flagship bottling.
The limited run of 8,000 bottles features artwork filled with nods to the Frapin estate in Segonzac.
The brand’s communication manager Thomas Soert told The Spirits Business: “The idea was to create something attractive and modern, but with some messages about the history of the Frapin family.”
These include a depiction of Château Fontpinot, which has stood among the Frapin vineyards since the 18th century; a visual reference to the Gustave Eiffel-designed metalwork in the estate’s blending cellar; and the coat of arms given to the Frapin dynasty by Louis XIV.
It also features piano keys and musical notation motifs that reference Frapin’s participation in the annual Cognac Blues Passions festival.
“The drinkers of Frapin today may by 35-40-years-old and above. So we want to attract younger people,” Soret said. “Maybe not the 20-year-olds, but 30 years old and more.”
The artwork is printed on a wrapper made with 30% recycled PET plastic. While this edition is explicitly aimed at collectors, anyone choosing to dispose of the bottle can separate the wrapper from the glass using a perforated tear strip so that both elements can be recycled separately.
The brand’s attempts to court younger fans also include cocktail recipes and the suggestion to serve Frapin VSOP straight from the freezer, as ‘once on the table, the carafe and the Cognac warm up and the subtle aromas are gradually revealed, moment by moment,’ the brand noted.
“At the Chateau, we serve that with something like a fish carpaccio,” added Soret.
Modernity and tradition in Coganc
“Our job is to follow this traditional way and the terroir. What’s new for Frapin is the packaging, but inside? No compromise,” said Frapin’s cellar master Patrice Piveteau.
“The liquid is the same as the other VSOP. All the range comes from our vineyards and we try to control everything during the process.”
In addition to working solely with grapes from the 240-hectare Frapin estate, Piveteau does not filter the lees from his wines prior to distillation, and takes an unhurried approach to ageing eaux-de-vie.
“There is no one key to producing something good – there are many elements – but one of them is ageing. I need time to produce something good. It’s not the same every time, because it depends on each blend, but it’s a minimum seven-years-old.”
The legal minimum age for a VSOP Cognac is four years.
Frapin’s Collector’s Edition VSOP is available now with a recommended retail price of €69 (US$80).
The house’s Château Fontpinot XO took home a Master medal at The Brandy & Cognac Masters 2026. Judges described the XO as representing one of “the bigger show-stopper styles” of Cognac with an “almost regal” aroma. The expression was praised for its “opulence and elegant, velvety palate.”
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