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This brandy was inspired by Fine de Bourgogne, a regional brandy from Oregon's sister wine region, Burgundy. Fine is pronounced “feen,” because French is really hard.
A country cousin to Cognac, Fine de Bourgogne is an old-fashioned bistro brandy. They can be a bit punchy and rustic, but at their best, they showcase the unique flavors of their base wines. Fine de Bourgogne is distilled from local Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wine as well as the lees (yeast sediment) left after the wines are racked to clarify them, which give a fat, creamy texture and bright, floral aromatics to the distillate.
This barrel was selected by L'Echelle, a wonderful French bistro here in Portland, which, much like this brandy, draws inspiration from the techniques of France but works with local raw materials. This release was distilled from rosè of Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir lees, and aromatic white wine lees, all from my neighbor Barnaby at Teutonic Wines. Each component was distilled and aged separately, then blended after two years as their unique flavors began to reveal themselves. After an additional two years of aging in toasted French oak, the spirit was slowly reduced to bottling strength of 46% abv over four months. The flavor is quite concentrated due to the barrel's position in the warehouse (top of the stack near the heater and vent fan) where it saw a whopping 35% angel share in just four and a half years.
This is a dense yet elegant spirit, with layered notes of raisins, dark chocolate, butterscotch, and caramelized pineapple. The lees give it exceptional length and richness, although there’s plenty of vinous character and a delicate spice note to keep it light on its feet.
Each label is hand-printed with a lino block and will show some natural variation, because I am a distiller and not really a printmaker.