Bernard Hine has impeccable manners. However, as we meet for an apéritif at Hine House, he is a little disgruntled. The source of his unhappiness is a stomach upset which means he is unable to indulge in the foie gras and the 1953 Vintage port, among other treats. A lesser man would have made his excuses, but Bernard’s sense of duty and hospitality doesn’t permit such a course of action. Indeed, his discontent appears to be based more on his inability to fully participate in the dinner than any personal inconvenience.
The surroundings are historic: Hine House, one of the oldest in Jarnac, has stood on the banks of the Charente for more than 250 years. Following his arrest during the French Revolution, Thomas Hine, an Englishman from Dorset, married a French girl whose father owned a Cognac house; the business was renamed Thomas Hine & Co in 1817.
Hine specialises in single-vintage Cognacs from the Grande Champagne region.
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