Hine, cognac firm in Jarnac
- 1763 The date Hine stills calls as date of establishment
- 1782 The date called by Nicolas Faith as date of establishment
- 1792 (approx.) Thomas Hine is being employed by Ranson & Delamain.
- 1796 Thomas Hine marries Françoise Elisabeth Delamain and associates with his father-in-law, James Delamain (Ranson & Delamain).
- 1817 Bankruptcy of Delamain.
- 1817 Thomas Hine establishes his own company, Hine, together with his brother-in-law, Garreau.
- 1971 The Scottish Distillers Company (DCL) buys Hine.
- 1980 Hine takes over Denis-Mounié.
- 1986 Guinness buys Distillers Company (and therefore also Hine)
- 1987 Hine is being bought by the LV.MH group.
- 1991 Monnet is being brought under the management of Hine by the LV-MH group.
- 2003 Hine is being sold to the CL Financial group in Trinidad.
- 2013 Hine is being sold to the Nicolas family, a large wine-business in France with subsidiaries in Belgium, England, Russia and Marocco.
1763 Is being called the date of establishment by the Hine firm, but Thomas Hine, founder of the firm, was being born in England twelve years later in 1775 in England and moved to France in 1791. He setteld down in Jarnac were he worked as a personal assistent for the négociant who made the cognac his father lover most. This négociant was Delamain, and the firm Delamain was established in 1763. Now Thomas Hine fell in love with one of Delamain’s daughters, Françoise, and marries her in 1796. After his marriage he also associates with James Delamain, wich at the time is still called Ranson & Delamain. In 1817 Delamain goes bankrupt. In the same year Thomas hine founds his own company, Hine, with the help of his brother-in-law Garreau. It is possible (probable) they stayed in the Delamain’s premises and because hiw wife is a Delamain and because his company is built upon the remains of Delamain, they have called 1763 for a long time as the date of their establishment. Nowadays they themselves mention the year 1817 as the starting date for their company; but not allways as became obvious by the celebration of their 250-year anniversary in the year 2013.and by the use of their new logo.
Bernard Hine (born 1939) is still managing the firm, but unfortunately has no children. François Le Grelle is the MD and Eric Forget is maître-de-Chai.
In the past Hine did not own any vineyards, nor distilleries. But in the 2000s they strted buying yhem and now (2020) they own 105 hectares in the grande champagne and 10 in the petite champagne. They also buy eau-de-vie and cognac from wine-growers in grande champagne, petite champagne and fins bois. Distillation is being carried out on the lees. The cognac is being reduced to 60% alc. in a very early stage to prevent too much tannine to be extracted form the wood. Above all they use Tronçais wood, but not solely. The young eau-de-vie is put in new wood for several months and after that it is being transferred to older casks. After the marriage or blending the cognac is being kept in a very large cask for 10-12 months to ensure its harmony. They do add caramel and sugar. Before being botteld the cognac is filtered
In the past Hine was well known in England for his Early Landed Cognac: the young cognac was brought to England to age in London or Bristol cellars. Nowadays it is prescribed by law that the cognac be aged in the cognac region in France.
Range: Rare & Delicate (nowadays: Rare VSOP), Antique Fine Champagne, Antique Grande Champagne, Triomphe and Family Réserve, Marriage (grande champagne), Talent (grande champagne).
They also sell a Cigar Réserve, theHommage and several Vintages.
The Homage is for sale for several years now and is a blend of three different years of grande champagne.
Other brands owned by Hine or which have been used by Hine in the past:
- Arc de Triomphe
- Comandon (owned by Denis-Mounié; it is now bought by Vigneron)
- Denis-Mounié
- F.O.V.
- Foucaud-Lechantre
- Guy Gautier
- Harrier
- Monnet
- Montagu
- Monteru Frères
http://www.hinecognac.com/ (doesn’t work anymore)
https://hine.com/en/
Address: 16 Quai de l’Orangerie, 16120 Jarnac. Telephone: 0545 355959. (visitors welcome from monday-thursday 9-12h and 14-17h; friday 9-12h.)
Hello, thank you for providing so much information about Hine cognac. I was gifted this bottle, could you please tell me how much it is worth? If possible, could you also suggest a reputable way to sell it for it’s value? Hoping to get it into the hands of someone who knows how to enjoy this more than I would. Thank you!
Hello Amanda,
This is a five-star cognac from around 1950 (late 1940s or early 1950s). They are quite rare.
It is quite difficult to predict how much you can get for this bottle at auction. It all depends on how many people are willing to bid. On a good day, it can fetch €300 or more. I have seen them go for that amount, but personally I think that is too much for this bottle, even if it is in good condition.
This bottle has lost its neck label and the little stag at the end of the rope.
There are several auction houses to choose from. Bonhams, Leland Little, Catawiki or any of the British whisky auction houses.
Good luck,
Ton
Hi, I have an unopened bottle of 5 star Hine cognac that I found when cleaning out my stepdads office and am wondering an approximate value & if it is of good quality ? Thank you!
hine
Dear Tara,
Because you didn’t add a photo, this is difficult to answer. What kind of 5 star are we talking about? Is it a cognaçaise bottle or the 5 star Sceptre? The former will probably yield more than the latter.
If it was stored properly, then it is good cognac. If it was stored lying down, then the cork is affected and the taste is no longer good. So it must have been stored upright, not too warm and preferably in the dark. Also important is the level in the bottle. Is it still high enough?
Don’t expect too much for a five star. I would say €50-100 and on a good day maybe €150, but these estimates are really difficult, because there are not many for sale to compare with.
Good luck,
Ton
Hello! Trying to get some info / value on this. I believe it’s a 1939 based on the tax stamp, but I’m not finding much else online.
That could well be. Whithout your information I would have estimated early 1940s, because of the bi-coloured capsule. But end 1930s is very much possible.
I found this bottle among several other Cognacs in my Grandmothers garage while doing a clear out.
I don’t know much about Cognacs or what age this is? Is this worth selling or holding onto for a bit longer?
Hi Julian,
This bottle was produced in the 1970s. It is the lowest quality of Hine, containing cognac that has aged a minimum of two years. Better qualities are VSOP, Napoleon and XO, that have aged a minimum of 4, 6 and 10 years respectively. So the worth is not much and you would have to wait for a very long time before it wil be worth a substantial sum of money.
It is 70°proof so you are probably in the UK. I estimate this bottle at 20-30 GBP if auctioned. But I have seen bottles go for 50.
Hine is a good cognac brand. You could certainly try drinking it yourself, although in my house three star cognac is used for mixing or cooking.
Ton
Hallo. I have a bottle of Imperial T Hine and would like to know how old it is, its story and what could be its value. It was from my father’s bar bottles.
Hi Alessandra,
I haven’t seen many of these Imperial/Imperiale bottles, but the ones I have seen were all on Mexican auction sites. This type of bottle, with the little oval shoulder label with the Royal Arms on it, was from the 1970s. The 1950-60s bottles had a square label. More of them are here on the Hine bottle catalog page.
I would have expected good prices for these bottles, but what I have seen is disappointing: around 1.000 mexican pesos.
I am curious were your father lived. Is this bottle also bought in Mexico?
Sorry that I have not more information for you.
Ton.
Hello Ton,
my 90 years grandfather died and left me this Hine cognac.
Is it possible to find out something more about this bottle?
Thank you
Martin
Hello Martin,
This bottle is from the 1970s. Three star quality, which is the lowest quality, so it is not expensive. Normally you could expect a price around €60-70 euro’s, but once in a while people start bidding against eachother and then it could become more. I have seen it go for over €100.
Hine is a reputable brand and the three star Hine form this era is very decent.
Kind regards,
Ton
My bottle of hine 1953 is different than pictures i see here the 40% alchohol is on back not front right corner
Please send me a photo (I will send an e-mail to facilitate)
Hi – I have a bottle of Triomphe – Grande Champagne cognac — it appears here on this page (first one on the left)
should I open and drink it or is there interest in it?
I’d be interested in your thoughts.
Hi Tracey,
If I were you I would drink it. It contains over 50 year old cognac form the best cognac region and was bottled in the 1960s or early 1970s. It is a very good cognac.
Could you sell it? Yes. The worth depends on were you sell it and how many people are bidding, but you could expect about €250-300, a little more if lucky.
Cheers,
Ton
Thanks – We’ll drink and enjoy it!
I have a bottle of the rare and delicate and would like to know how old it is i can not seem to find a bottle or a label that looks like the one i have
Hello Deanna,
Tank you for taking an interest in my website.
I am very curious to see pictures of your bottle.
Could you send me some pictures? I will see what I can tell you about it.
Thanks,
Ton Hendriks