Jean Fillioux 1996 Grande Champagne Cognac 43.1% 700ml (Gift Box)

Honoré Fillioux founded the Jean Fillioux Cognac house in 1880, working initially from his wife's family vineyard near Angeac-Champagne (the 'Puits' property). In 1894 the family acquired the Domaine de la Pouyade — the imposing residence and estate vineyard at Juillac-le-Coq in the heart of Grande Champagne — which has served as the production base ever since. The estate is 1er Cru classified, the highest tier within the Cognac AOC, recognised since 1909 for the chalky soils that produce the longest-cellaring Cognac eaux-de-vie.

Five generations have run the house since Honoré, with Christophe Fillioux taking over from his father Pascal in 2015. The estate is 25 hectares of Grande Champagne vineyard; the house works as a single-estate producer rather than a négociant — distilling its own grapes, ageing in its own cellars, and bottling under the family name. The range covers VSOP, Napoléon, XO, Réserve Familiale, the Cep d'Or XO (13–15 yrs Grande Champagne 1er Cru), and the deep cellar of single-vintage releases — most famously the 1953 Cognac.