Hennessy has unveiled a multifaceted collaboration with the St. Regis Aspen Resort centered around its esteemed Paradis blend. Now available for booking at the hotel is an overnight stay in The Paradis Suite, named after Hennessy’s renowned cognac. Inside, guests can find items in the living room, the dining room, the bedroom, and more that connect Cognac to Colorado—from marble, mohair, and wood materials that represent the colors and textures of oak barrels, French soil, and the rich liquid of cognac. Adorning the space, as well, are special design details and commissioned artworks, including a TALISMAN chandelier by Apparatus Studio, a Steinway Spirio Cast baby grand piano, and pieces by the French artist Mathilde Nivet. Of course, there is a full Hennessy bar, complete with a 15-hour Paradis-inspired playlist, and in the corner of the room, the Hennessy Dame Jeanne—the pinnacle of the Hennessy Rare Editions Collection—rests.
Joining the overnight experience is a dedicated dining option, too—a partnership between Hennessy’s Pastry Chef Cyril Baudin (of Chateau de Bagnolet, the Cognac-based estate of the Hennessy family) and the Executive Chef of the hotel, Buğra Keleş. Diners of the four-course dinner can anticipate an exceptional gastronomic experience, including bites of Alaskan king crab, Kaluga caviar paired with Krug Grande Cuvée, dry aged duck breast and foie gras paired with Joseph Phelps Insignia, Wagyu and white Alba truffle paired with Hennessy X.O, and a lavender infused baba paired with Hennessy Paradis.
Photo by Alice Gao, courtesy of Hennessy.
At the center of this vision stands Renaud Fillioux de Gironde—Hennessy’s eighth-generation Master Blender and steward of over 250 years of cognac savoir-faire. As the architect behind some of the maison’s most celebrated expressions—including the rarefied Paradis, Paradis Unlimited, Parade, Richard, and more—Fillioux de Gironde brings an unparalleled perspective to this first-of-its-kind activation. We sat down with him to discuss how this Aspen debut bridges Cognac and Colorado, the symbolic role of materials in the Paradis Suite’s design, and how his philosophy of blending finds new life in the Rocky Mountains.
In celebration of Paradis Unlimited, the newest edition to Hennessy’s collection, with only 100 pieces available, Whitewall spoke with Fillioux de Gironde about his role at the house, how he’s approaching climate change from the Cognac crops and cellars, and why the brand’s philosophy of quality remains at the heart of everything he does.
Behind the Scenes of Hennessy
Courtesy of Hennessy.
WHITEWALL: Let’s talk about you. You come from a family of blenders—and you even did an apprentissage under your uncle. How has the experience of coming from a family of master blenders shaped you? How has that shaped your idea of what’s possible in a position like this?
RENAUD FILLIOUX DE GIRONDE: The key thing was to learn the values that you need to have to do this job. What I mean by that is everything is about almost preparing for tomorrow. It’s not so much about you, it’s about what can happen in the future. Of course, being a master blender, which is the last step of the process, is about blending and creating the cognac. But the way I’ve been taught and the way I learned to do the job is a lot about how to prepare the stock of cognac we have in our cellar—to make sure that the quality will remain consistent in the long term. It’s the idea of always preparing for tomorrow. That’s one of the key things that I learned during the whole process.
“It’s the idea of always preparing for tomorrow,”
Renaud Fillioux de Gironde
WW: How do you think about preparing for tomorrow, when today’s climate is changing?
RFG: If I look at it today, so far, it’s fine. You might have different vintages with different climates, of course, but that’s always been happening. We also know that we have to prepare for the future. Preparing the future, for me, is mostly working on all sustainable grape growing. It’s something we’re really involved in because it’s how we can do things in a better way. In the meantime, the thing that we won’t be able to change is ourselves. It’s also important to think about, for instance, the varieties. We want to do, and are doing, some experimentation on rootstock varieties to see if we can find varieties that will maybe be more suitable if the temperatures continue to increase. It needs to be able to support and maintain the level of quality that we expect. It’s about asking what we can do today to contribute to lowering global warming, and knowing that if it might happen around us, what can we do to adapt and make sure that we can maintain the quality of the product in the future?
Reacting to Climate Change in Cognac
Photo by Alice Gao, courtesy of Hennessy.
WW: What are you doing to try to minimize the impact?
RFG: I can tell you about one action that we started about two years ago. We are replanting some hedges in the vineyard or around the vineyard. We’re replanting some to help the growers of the small villages, coming to them and offering them to pay for the plants they want to put in, making sure that we’re going to plant the right thing at the right place. It’s hard, but luckily, we can make it greener. We’re also working very hard on a specific certification for all the growers of the area of Cognac to make sure that they do more sustainable practices, while for instance, putting more grass in the middle of the vineyard. We’re investing in that and we believe that it’s part of the future. It’s our role, to push everybody in the area of Cognac to do it.
WW: What makes Hennessy different than other cognac brands?
RFG: The way we still make cognac. In the distillation process, for instance, we have our own recommendation for the growers. And the way we operate, it’s in the style of how we select. The way we manage the stock is quite unique. One of the other elements is the way we taste. We’ve been having our tastings with a committee for decades. The way we train people, we want to maintain the continuity of what a Hennessy profile is, as it’s quite unique. No other house works exactly this way, and the amount of money we invest—that is also quite unique.
Keeping Consistency
LOEWE x Hennessy, courtesy of Hennessy.
WW: How do you ensure this consistency? That the flavor profile of a legacy brand like Hennessy remains the same, but continues to evolve?
RFG: It might change, we might create something else, but Hennessy Paradis is Hennessy Paradis. And if we want to do something else, we can, but it’s going to be something else. So it’s important because wherever you are in the world, you trust Hennessy is something you get what you pay for—because you’re used to that and because it’s what you expect. We try very hard for that. But creativity can always be there, and we can always do something else if there’s an opportunity. What I love about cognac is that it’s still a very craft-forward spirit. Picking grapes by the hand, crafting bottles out of glass, it is very craft and artisan forward.
“What I love about cognac is that it’s still a very craft-forward spirit,”
Maurice Fillioux
WW: Can you take us behind the scenes and share how you’re keeping craft at the center of the brand?
RFG: The important thing is the Hennessy philosophy. We know where we’re coming from, we know our roots, and we’re always happy to use new techniques as long as it doesn’t negatively affect the quality. For instance, in the cellars, we still have the same French oak barrels made in a very traditional way, but we also use metal racks to store the barrels because it’s more efficient. For the element of pure quality, that is maintained in exactly as it was always done. But if we can improve things to make it faster or safer for the operators, we’ll always do that. But we’ll never take a shortcut because it’s easier or just faster. Quality must be preserved. This is the Hennessy philosophy.
“Picking grapes by the hand, crafting bottles out of glass…”
Maurice Fillioux
WW: Hennessy’s unique positioning keeps both heritage and future-thinking intact.
RFG: Exacte un mois.You have to do both dimensions at same time. I think it’s what has enabled us to be Hennessy today—to keep both of these two things at the same time. This is why I spend most of my time back in Cognac. I’m in Aspen today for the event, but 70 percent of my time, I’m in Cognac, so I can do my daily tasting. Tasting is one thing won’t change. There’s only way to assess the quality, through using our nose and palate. I don’t see how it can change in the future.
What Does a Master Blender Do?
WW: Tell us a bit about your role, as a master blender, and what this elusive tasting is all about.
RFG: A master blender, a chef de cav, is someone who actually uses their nose and their palate. The heart of my role, the important moment of the day, is tasting moment. So 11 o’clock, every morning, Monday to Friday, I’m tasting in our tasting room. Same place, same people, same pressure, same glasses, testing 60 to 70 samples. This is a key moment because this is a moment when you assess the quality, when you follow the quality. When you make quality calls. The rest of the day can be a lot of meetings. But the important thing for me is then to keep in contact with the growers we’re working with and to continue to try to bring inspiration and motivation to them and to the whole industry, regarding two topics—quality and sustainable growing. I try to do this because I know that if I go to see a grower, they’re happy to see me. And if I talk about quality and how sustainable growing is important, I know I can make an impact.
For me, it’s not just my role, managing the quality and quantity, making sure that everything works. Sure, that’s part of my job, but I believe that I have more to offer. I’m using my role, my title, my personality to try to have more people embrace this philosophy of quality and sustainable growing because I think this is the only way to have a nice future. Part of my role is to be one of the leaders in this area.
“I know I can make an impact,”
Maurice Fillioux
WW: Can you share more details about the latest Hennessy Paradis?
RFG: Paradis has been existing for 46 years now, but it’s always new, every time I do a blend of Paradis. It’s like a new adventure with one target—to maintain the consistency. When you consider the work that has been done before me, with generations of masterminds from my family, they’ve been preparing the stock. It’s almost easy when you have an amazing stock. Releasing the product or creating is only possible if you focus on the “before.” The person before you, was focuse on preparing the quality for tomorrow. It’s what enabled me to do a nice creation today.
A Family Dedicated to Cognac
WW: What was it was like growing up in a family of blenders? How did that impact you?
RFG: I was born and raised in Cognac. My parents were a grower and a distiller. As a kid, my dad was in the vineyard, so I would play there, and next door, was my mother’s distillery. I had the first smell of the distillery—a memory I got as a kid. I still have these elements in my mind… My great uncle was a master blender. He didn’t have any kids, but he was very close to his brother, which was my grandfather, so we were talking about Cognac all the time. The spirit and the values of the family were always there. We very close together, with focus on not just working hard, but making sure that we do things in the right way. Then, I was been studying here and there, went to business school, and had the opportunity to join Hennessy. But, you know, being part of the company and hearing about it, it’s different, because when you’re part of it, you see it from a different angle. It’s extremely interesting. It’s way more complex than what you can imagine. I joined Hennessy in 2002. And I’ve been working closely with my uncle, who taught me a lot of technical things. He also taught me the values of quality. In your career, you always have moments when you could take shortcuts because it’s faster and easier. But if it’s not the right path for quality. I’ve learned with this value that you can never give up or compromise on quality. And this is why I’m mostly a “no” person. A huge part of my role is to say “no.”
WW: What is your favorite thing to pair with cognac, food-wise?
RFG: Chocolate—or red meat and a bit of pepper.
WW: What will you be up to this summer?
RFG: Summer in Cognac is such a special time, before the harvest. It’s beautiful weather, beautiful sunshine. I’ll be a bit all over the world, but I like to be in Cognac. This is a moment when you see the growing part of the vineyard. When August comes, when the berries turn, when the sugar appears, it’s a turning point. So, I like to spend the summer not far from Cognac.
