We mark the halfway point of the Cognac-Expert 2025 Advent Calendar with a pour from one of Charente’s most enduring dynasties: the Frapin XO VIP Cognac. Hailing from a family whose winegrowing roots stretch back centuries, this Grande Champagne expression carries the weight of serious history. Now, let’s see if the liquid in the glass lives up to the VIP title.
Cognac Frapin
The Frapin family history traces back to 1270. They started as wine growers in southwest France. Gradually, they evolved into distillers. They have kept this tradition for over 20 generations. This continuity makes them one of the world’s most enduring wine families.
A major historical link boosts the family’s prestige. The 16th-century author François Rabelais was the son of Anne-Catherine Frapin. This makes him an ancestor of the house’s founder, Pierre Frapin. The family honours this heritage with their golden quill logo. They also name prestige cuvées like Cuvée Rabelais after him.
The family eventually settled at Château de Fontpinot in Segonzac. This is in the heart of Grande Champagne. Today, Frapin owns the largest single estate in this cru. It covers roughly 240 hectares of vineyards. All of it lies within this Premier Grand Cru area. This allows Frapin to work as a single-estate producer. They harvest, distil, age, and bottle only what they grow. This is rare for a house of their size.
Pierre Frapin solidified the modern house structure in 1870. He was an innovator. He replanted vineyards with phylloxera-resistant rootstocks, and this saved the estate during the late 19th-century crisis. His vision also extended to infrastructure. He commissioned Gustave Eiffel to build the chais’ iron framework, and this structure still stands and houses aging eaux-de-vie today.
The house remains fiercely independent and family-run. Ties linked Frapin with other giants like Rémy Martin. This happened when Marie Frapin married André Renaud in 1920. Yet, Frapin kept its distinct identity. Later, Beatrice Cointreau managed the estate in the modern era. Stewardship then passed to Jean-Pierre Cointreau in 2007, ensuring that the direct family line still oversees operations.
Frapin’s philosophy centres on long aging and terroir. They harvest Ugni Blanc grapes from crumbly, chalky soils, and these soils resemble those in Reims. They distil on the lees in traditional copper stills. This produces rich, complex spirits. Ageing takes place in Limousin oak barrels, and it often lasts longer than regulations require. Barrels rest in both dry and humid cellars on the estate, in order to control evaporation and flavour development.
Frapin XO VIP Cognac Review
The Frapin XO VIP draws exclusively from Grande Champagne, using Ugni Blanc grapes that Frapin distils on their lees in 25-hectolitre stills. These eaux-de-vie spend 30 years maturing in wide-grain Limousin oak casks with a medium-plus toast, resting within Frapin’s humid cellars. Bottled at 40% ABV, you can find this expression for just over €200 from retailers like Cognac-Expert.
Colour:
Cider with a light orange hue.
Nose:
Neat: Floral notes sit up front, with dried and candied fruits – apricots, raisins, date, and candied orange – wrapped in vanilla, honey, nougat and gentle oak spice, plus a touch of rancio that brings nuts and praline.
Palate:
Neat: On the palate, the cognac feels ‘smooth’ and velvety yet carries some power. Stewed and dried fruits, sticky dates and figs, and Christmas‑cake elements like gingerbread, caramel, espresso, toasted nuts and warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, all the while keeping a fresh, fruity core that stops the richness from turning heavy.
Finish:
The finish runs long, warming and layered, with dry spice, root ginger, lingering chocolate, nuts, soft oak and a gentle rancio echo that ties back to the fruit and floral notes from the nose.
Comments:
This Frapin XO VIP (this would not have been a name I would have recommended, it can be seen as pretentious) well… misses the VIP mark for me. It’s good, sure, but it lacks power and some depth and complexity to really deserve that name.