Paul Giraud Napoléon (15 Years) is an elegant Grande Champagne Cognac from the Paul Giraud family estate in Bouteville, bottled at 40% ABV in a 700ml bottle. Made from eaux-de-vie averaging 15 years old and matured with 25% new oak, it sits one step above the estate's VSOP, showing a lighter colour but a more layered, floral character. Silky smooth and rounded, it delivers vanilla, honey and lemon cream, spruced up with fresh pear and a flurry of spice, scoring 94 points from Wine Enthusiast.

Paul Giraud Cognac Napoleon 15 Year Old Tasting Notes.

Nose: Floral notes of vine flowers, elder flowers and lilies combine with fruity nectarine and plum, alongside late-summer fruit like plum and very present notes of honey, evoking an orchard near a beehive.

Palate: Light and very elegant, with a slight greasy richness, ripe pear, fig, dried apple and brandied prune, developing an almost leathery depth compared to the fresher VSOP.

Finish: Fading into a long, ginger-spiked oak finish, with pleasant roundness and lingering warmth.

Why Choose Paul Giraud Cognac Napoleon 15 Year Old?

Napoléon sits deliberately between Paul Giraud's VSOP and their older XO and Très Rare tiers, and the estate's own detail confirms real craft behind that positioning: matured with 25% new oak, eaux-de-vie averaging around 15 years — well above the Napoléon category's 6-year legal minimum — giving it noticeably more depth and complexity than a standard-issue Napoléon Cognac. One respected reviewer specifically noted the nose turns "almost leathery at times," with the fruit character shifting from the VSOP's fresher notes toward dried apple and brandied prune — a genuine evolution in character rather than simply "the same Cognac, aged a bit longer." Scoring 94 points from Wine Enthusiast, it's built entirely from Grande Champagne fruit — Cognac's classified Premier Cru — reflecting the Giraud family's continuous stewardship of the same Bouteville vineyards since 1635. A genuinely well-reviewed step up from VSOP for drinkers wanting more floral complexity and honeyed depth without yet moving into the estate's rarer, pricier XO and Très Rare releases.

About Paul Giraud.

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.