When the B.N.I.C. banned the production of vintage cognacs in 1962 – because a lot of fraud was going on - they made three exceptions, of which Hine was one. The other two were Delamain and Croizet-Eymard. These three firms held such precise registers of years and provenance of their cognacs that they could prove their authenticity. By the way, the ban was lifted again in 1987.