Paul Giraud Cognac 1999 40% 700ml

Brand: Cognac Paul Giraud

Release Name: Millésime (Vintage) 1999

Spirit Style / Type: Single-Vintage Grande Champagne Cognac

Composition: 100% Ugni Blanc

Age: 1999 Vintage (Distilled Early 2000, Aged Separately in the Villeneuve Haut Cellar)

Volume: 700ml Bottle

Alc / Vol (%): 40.0%

Country: France

Region: Grande Champagne (Premier Cru), Bouteville

Cask Type: French Oak Barrels, Aged Separately from the Estate's Other Cognacs

Limited Edition: Yes (Single-Vintage Release — Limited by the Volume of the 1999 Distillation)

Award Winner: Yes — 96-97 Points (18.25/20), Choukroun Chicheportiche Jonathan, Vertdevin

Cognac Paul Giraud is a family-owned estate in Bouteville, in the heart of Grande Champagne, with winegrowing roots tracing back to around 1650 — nearly four centuries of continuous family stewardship. Paul Jean Giraud, born in 1952, represents the 10th generation to lead the domain, having founded the modern Cognac Paul Giraud brand alongside his father in 1975. The estate's vineyards sit entirely within Grande Champagne, Cognac's classified Premier Cru, in the shadow of the historic Château of Montmorency-Bouteville, and Paul Giraud is widely regarded by specialists as one of the finest representatives of authentic, single-vintage Grande Champagne Cognac, producing a range spanning from 6-year to 60-year-old releases.

This is a genuine single-vintage release with a real story behind it: when the Giraud family distilled the 1999 harvest in early 2000, they judged it to show unusually intense aromatics and made the deliberate choice to age it separately, in its own dedicated cellar in Bouteville — the Villeneuve Haut cellar — rather than folding it into the estate's standard blends. That long, isolated maturation has been described by the estate itself as the bridge between two of their other releases: the floral lightness of the Napoleon and the fruit-driven depth of the Vieille Réserve XO, giving this vintage a genuinely distinctive place within the range. The results have been recognised at the highest level — French critic Vertdevin scored it 96-97 points (18.25/20), praising its fineness and power in equal measure. The Giraud family has cultivated the same Bouteville vineyards since 1635, and Paul Jean Giraud continues that unbroken line today, producing Cognacs "not made from blends" — a genuine, terroir-first philosophy that shows clearly in a wine this age-specific. A serious, well-reviewed choice for Cognac collectors wanting a true single-vintage expression rather than a house blend.