Le Vermouth Rouge 17.5% is a French red vermouth from Burgundy, it is composed of 21 aromatic plants, flowers and fruits, which macerate separately. The maceration takes place at room temperature, and you try to get a complete maceration, where you extract as much flavor as possible from the ingredients. For the flowers and plants it is typically between 5 and 15 days, while for the fruits it is up to 5 weeks. Precision and patience are key words to bring out the best flavor in the vermouth. After maceration, the infusions are carefully filtered. The maceration from the wormwood (which is essential and a legal requirement for vermouth) is then distilled in the traditional kettles, and then blended together with the other infusions and Bourgogne Pinot Noir, which accounts for 75% of the total volume. Finally, the sweetness is gradually added to compliment the lingering flavors of the fruit and plants, this is one of the most demanding processes, but also the one that Joseph Cartron masters from his liqueur production. The production takes place 100% with natural ingredients, just like when you make fruit liqueurs. There are 2 fruit infusions, Currants from Burgundy and Black cherries from Burgundy, which together with 19 other ingredients (including: wormwood, orange peel, cinnamon, turmeric, thyme, ginger and Sichuan pepper to name a few) give a unique and local taste of what that grows and resides in the local Burgundy. It has a light ruby red color and the nose is intense and spicy, with notes of vanilla, pepper and orange, as well as blackcurrant. In the mouth, there is a good balance between the fruit in the wine (lots of blackcurrants) and there are aromatic notes that deliciously compliment the Pinot Noir.A fantastic vermouth for the Burgundy drinker, or other vermouth lovers.
Some firms in Burgundy may boast of being bigger or more hyped than Joseph Cartron, but Cartron, founded in 1882, is clearly one of the most recognized for their quality. The secret behind the excellent fruit liqueurs and fruit spirits (Eaux-de-vie) lies primarily in the selection of the quality of the raw fruit. A blackcurrant, raspberry, pear or plum used for distillation or maceration must be perfect in its ripeness and health. Here, any small mistake can ruin the whole thing. As with wine, the quality of a fruit liqueur or Eau-de-vie does not start in the cellar but in the fields during cultivation. In Burgundy, Cartron has a fantastic supply of fruit on the slopes above the Grand Cru vineyards or on the Hautes Côtes in the hinterland. Other ingredients are sourced from the rest of France or more exotic places in the world. Each product gets its own distillation according to a recipe that has been used for several generations. If there are changes, it is only to improve the product.
