Hennessy Master Blend Selection Nº2 – Single Batch Fine Cognac
Hennessy Master Blend Selection Nº2 is the second cognac released by Hennessy in its Master Blender’s series. The series was created to highlight the skill of the master blender. Hennessy’s former master blender and cellar master Yann Filloux initiated the series with Hennessy Master Blend Selection Nº1. The Master Blender’s selection was designed to produce single batch Cognacs that not only display the skill of the master blender but also showcase the rich and varied eaux-de-vie on hand at Hennessy.
Hennessy Master Blend Selection Nº2 was crafted by Hennessy’s current master blender and cellar master Renaud Fillioux de Gironde with guidance from Yann Filoux who retired in July of 2017.
Watch a short film about Hennessy Master Blender’s Selection Nº2 by Parisian artist Ugo Gattoni.
Like Hennessy Master’s Blend Selection Nº1, Master Blender’s Selection Nº2 was released only in the United States in limited quantities.
The Hennessy Master Blender’s Selection Nº2 Review
We tasted Hennessy Master’s Blend Selection Nº2 neat in a Cognac snifter. Here are our notes:
Alcohol: 43% (86 proof) “cask strength”.
Age: the youngest eau-de-vie is at least ten years old (X.O. qualifying). The eaux-de-vie were each aged first for 18 months in young coarse-grained French oak barrels and then aged further in old oak barrels.
Price
Master’s Blend, released in the fall of 2017, is mostly sold out and sells at a price about 40% higher than Hennessy Privilège V.S.O.P., but about 55% less than Hennessy X.O.
The Bottle/Label
The Master Blend Selection Nº2 comes in an unique one liter 1930’s retro drug store style bottle. The bottle is numbered and signed by the Master Blender, Yann Fillioux. Our bottle was #54,211 from Batch 2.
The Color
Golden amber with copper highlights.
The Nose (Nez)
Vanilla, white pepper and dried apricot.
Mouth (En Bouche)
Pepper spice, cloves and nutmeg
Finish:
an extraordinarily long spicy finish that finally drops some of the spice in favor of licorice.
Overall
Hennessy Master Blend Selection Nº2
The 18 months the eaux-de-vie spent in the coarse young oak barrels imparts a large amount of spice in this cognac. The spice is alarming and overpowering at first as there is no hint of candied or dried fruit, citrus, vanilla or soft cinnamon that one might expect to find. The spice, however, softens and warmly recedes to the background, awaiting another sip that freshens the spice. Perfect for slow sipping.
What’s Next?
Upon the release of Master Blender’s Selection Nº1 Hennessy promised a Master Blend Selection Nº2 and delivered. Master Blender’s Selections Nºs 1 & 2 were released in the fall of 2016 and 2017, respectively. We would expect Master Blender’s Selection Nº3 to be released in the fall of 2018, but as of this writing no release date has been issued.
