By Morton Hochstein

Hennessy Paradis Imperial

In the days before the Russian revolution, its royal family traveled widely throughout Europe, and Paris was almost a second home. The Russian imperial court had a French fixation, fancying all things favored in Paris. The nobility imported French tutors, spoke French almost as their first language and traveled abroad frequently.  That Russian connection played an important role in the success of Hennessy Cognac whose spirits were enjoyed by the aristocracy in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

That link was the genesis of a historic Cognac blended for the Russian court almost two hundred years ago and for a new Cognac which made its debut in St. Petersburg earlier this summer.  In 1818, the Dowager Empress of Russia, Maria Feodorovna, implored Hennessy to create “a cognac of excellent, very old gold coloured” eau de vie as a gift for her son, Czar Alexander. The story of the spirit that Hennessy assembled for Russian nobility by Hennessy cellar master Jean Fillioux in the 19^th   century came down to his descendant, Yann Fillioux in the 21^st. He  is the seventh generation member of a family of master blenders who have been  sniffing and sipping and creating cognac for Hennessy for nearly 200 years, dating almost to the time Richard Hennessy arrived in France to plant the Irish flag in Cognac.  Yann Fillioux set out to create a limited edition Cognac memorializing that earlier special bottling for Russia, to be known as Paradis Imperial.

Hennessy has six cellars scattered around its base in the hamlet of Cognac. The original, an ancient warehouse called the Founders Cellar, sits across the Charente, a one minute boat ride from the firm’s modern Headquarters and tourist center. Spirits dating back to the late 1800’s rest in its cavernous timbered halls, sleeping in ancient casks and glass flacons, waiting to be melded into the top tier of the Hennessy line.

Fillioux was, fortunately, able to dig deep into the most treasured spirits in the Founders Cellar for eau de vie dating back to the 1800’s. Discussing his latest achievement, Fillioux declares:  “This cognac is the fruit of generations of talents.  I inherited outstanding eau de vie produced by previous generations of my family, who foresaw an exceptional future for them. This cognac is their creation.”

Hennessy launched Paradis Imperial this spring in festivities at the fabled Hermitage Museum and the Marble Palace in St, Petersburg, once and the capitol of Russian aristocracy. Opera singers and dancers from the Mariinsky Theater recreated the elegance of the Imperial Court before an   audience of international notables.  The gathering included several   Chinese celebrities, a tribute to the burgeoning importance of China as a market for upscale spirits. Fillioux learned his trade at the feet of his uncle Maurice in the late 1900’s and he’s teaching it to another Yann Fillioux, his nephew, in the 21^st century. The ability to select the spirits to make up a fine Cognac blend is hardly something that is handed down. It is a skill perfected only after years on the bench, working in the cellar and memorizing the qualities of hundred of eau de vie, the French term for spirits.

Cognac is the term applied only to spirits coming from the delimited area around the city of that name. It is a protected name, like Champagne. Spirits originating in other regions are known as brandy, just as sparkling wine from regions other than Champagne cannot bear that hallowed name, as in Spain where it is known as Cava.  Basic Cognac is classified as VS, meaning Very Special, and its youngest eau de vie must be at least two years old. Next step up is VSOP, Very Special Old Pale, whose youngest constituent must have aged for at least four years in cask. Prices and the maturity of the blend, a minimum of six years in wood, escalate rapidly at the XO, Extra Old, and level. XO is a complex blend which lists for $150 and contains as many as 100 eau de vie of varying ages and source.

The XO level is a plateau where the spirits are older and more diverse and are packaged in precious, especially designed decanters. The most precious of the group   is Hennessy Richard, named for the founder, and listing at $3,500.  Hennessy Richard, seldom appearing on retail shelves, is a rare specialty, prized by collectors, particularly in China which has become the number one market for the most expensive cognacs. Although China tops all others in dollar volume, the United States remains the number one overall market for Hennessy.

© August 2011 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.