1270 is the year when the Frapin family established itself in Cognac, since when, for generations it has produced some of the finest Grande Champagne Premier Cru cognacs.

1270 is also the name of the latest "variant" from Domaine Pierre Frapin: a sensuous and rich eau de parfum, created by Beatrice Cointreau, managing director of Cognac Frapin and great grand-daughter of Pierre Frapin.

The perfume is initially available in the UK via the company's website ww.cognac-frapin.com, or with special gift-packs of Cognac Frapin Extra.

As well as her well-established cognac credentials, Pierre FRAPIN's grand-daughter trained at ISIPCA, the School of Perfumery, founded in 1970 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain.

Here, she had the idea of producing a perfume worthy of the famous Frapin name.

Working with the Cognac Frapin's Cellar Master, she created a noble fragrance that is evocative of the very best scents surrounding cognac production.

The vine's flowers, the grass underneath one's feet, the wine warehouse, the cellars with their new barrels and acrid smell of damp earth, the wood of new casks, the rich, almost animal smell of humus where the very old eaux-de-vie are stored.

All these notes can be detected in 1270.

"I wanted to create a perfume which told the story of the aromatic joys of my childhood," says Cointreau. "There is a close synergy between the elegance of our cognacs and good perfume - and this was a natural avenue for the cellar-master and I to explore and take our blending skills into the next dimension."

The launch bottle is a 50ml vaporiser, a scaled down version of the unique Cognac Frapin Extra bottle, and has the same triple gold ringed outer edge and 3-pronged gold "claw" clasp.

Next year it will be available through selected perfume outlets, but until a UK perfume distributor is appointed, it is available, in the 50ml vaporiser with a special metal case, for 59 Euros, plus postage and packing, via the website: ww.cognac-frapin.com

However, for the more indulgent cognac and perfume connoisseur, it is also available within a special presentation box of Cognac Frapin Extra, which will be stocked by leading wine stockists such as Harrods and Selfridges, and it is anticipated that it will retail at around £250.