Paul Giraud XO Irisdis 25 yrs 40% 700ml

Brand: Cognac Paul Giraud

Release Name: Iridis XO (Limited Edition, Marketed in Australia as "Irisdis")

Spirit Style / Type: XO Grande Champagne Cognac

Composition: 100% Ugni Blanc

Age: XO Grade (Approximately 25 Years, Younger XO Eaux-de-Vie Selected for Finesse)

Volume: 700ml Decorative Carafe

Alc / Vol (%): 40.0%

Country: France

Region: Grande Champagne (Premier Cru), Bouteville

Cask Type: Aged Exclusively in French Limousin Oak

Limited Edition: Yes (Limited-Edition Decorative Carafe Release)

Award Winner: Not independently confirmed with a specific score for this exact release — the estate's related Vieille Réserve XO has scored 84-91 points from multiple independent reviewers, and the house holds Gold Medal recognition at the Concours des Vignerons Indépendants

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 genuinely deliberate stylistic choice from a house with the pedigree to make it: rather than chasing the deep, rich, rancio-driven character typically associated with older Cognac, Paul Giraud built Iridis specifically to showcase the finesse and lightness of younger XO eaux-de-vie from the Bouteville terroir — floral rather than heavy, delicate rather than powerful. The Giraud family's own winegrowing history stretches back to around 1650, with Paul Jean Giraud representing the 10th generation to lead the estate, and their 35-50 hectares sit entirely within Grande Champagne, the classified Premier Cru of the entire Cognac region — the top of the appellation's qualitative hierarchy. The estate has genuine competitive pedigree too, with related releases winning Gold Medals at the Concours des Vignerons Indépendants. Presented in an elaborately decorated glass carafe with a natural beech wood stopper, evoking vine flowers and spring blossoms, it's as much a display piece as a serious sipping Cognac — best enjoyed neat, gently warmed in the glass to release its full bouquet. A distinctive, genuinely different style of Cognac for collectors who already know the deeper, oakier XO styles and want to explore a lighter, more floral expression from a small, historic Grande Champagne family estate.