The Frapin family has been based in Charente since 1270, working first as wine-growers and later as distillers. Today it owns 240 hectares of vines in Grande Champagne, planted with Ugni Blanc, which has been grown for 21 generations. Distillation is completed in six 25 hl red copper Charentais stills. The cognac is then aged in Limousin oak barrels, first in new oak, then in older roux barrels and finally in century-old barrels for older cognacs, which no longer need to take on additional colour or aromas from the wood. The house owns both dry and humid cellars. Segonzac's were built by Gustave Eiffel. Frapin's cognacs have won numerous awards, notably at the Expositions Universelles in Paris in 1889 and 1900. They have been a success ever since.

Frapin XO VIP is made from very old cognacs exclusively from the Frapin estate in Grande Champagne, the most prestigious cru in the appellation. Distilled with their lees, the ageing in humid cellars brings the cognac roundness and softness. The bottle is inspired by the shape of a perfume bottle—to echo the cognac’’s aromas—and an inkpot—in tribute to François Rabelais, the famous Renaissance writer and son of Anne-Catherine Frapin and Antoine Rabelais.