This white vermouth made entirely from Chenin Blanc is herbaceous with notes of mint, balsam and aloe. Delicious as an addition to cocktails or as a base for a refreshing low-proof beverage.
Variety: 100% Chenin Blanc
Location: Azay-le-Rideau, Loire, France
Alcohol: 16.5%
The white drinks very fresh with intense herbaceousness-think mint, balsam and aloe flavors-and would make a delicious spicy riff on a dirty martini, or sip as is with a couple cubes, a slice of cucumber, and a twist.
Fortified with certified organic grape-based alcohol and sweetened with certified organic cane sugar. Macerated with wormwood, hope, quinine, citrus, angelica root, plus many more. All grapes are painstakingly sorted four times before whole-cluster fermentation with indigenous yeasts in tank, and a slow, gentle pressing that in some cases lasts five or more hours.
Grown on clay and silica soils. Quentin Bourse—the “Idiot Angel” of Azay-Le-Rideau is the winemaker behind Le Sot de l’Ange. Quentin’s estate is certified biodynamic (which is quite rare in Azay-Le-Rideau) and has been for over ten years (even rarer still). Local varieties are planted to capitalize on the clay and silica soils the region is famous for. In many parcels white silex stones litter the rows making it look as if the terroir is oozing from the earth. Quentin cuts no corners while working in the vines, doing everything by hand, usually without help, and limits copper sulfer sprayings to 500 grams a year: 75% less than commonly used by other producers in the area.
