Tillingham Grape Skin Eau De Vie 2021 Vintage

A 2021 single vintage eau de vie distilled using a blend of grape skins from Tillingham Winery.

GRAPE VARIETIES:

Pinot Noir, Regent, Ortega, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc

WHAT IS GRAPE MARC SPIRIT?

Grape marc spirit is a pure fruit spirit derived solely from grape skins. Italians call this grappa.

TILLINGHAM WINERY:

Tillingham is a biodynamic/natural winery in East Sussex. 

WHATS THE PROCESS?

After the grapes are pressed at the winery the grape skins are refermented and twice distilled in a custom made cold-vacuum still in Edinburgh. 

Individual grape varieties are processed separately and an end of year blend is developed to capture the spirit of the year's harvest.

WHY VACUUM DISTILLATION?

Vacuum distillation allows the flavour extraction process to occur at very low temperatures. This ensures all the delicate aromatics and 'raw' flavours from the grape fermentation are captured and preserved. Compared to traditional distilling – where copper stills operate at higher temperatures and the flavours captured take on deeper 'cooked' notes – vacuum distillation is characteristically lighter, delicate and incredibly aromatic.

Additionally, flavours captured through the cold vacuum process have an obvious synergy with the fruit they were extracted from. In other words, good grapes make good grappa.

SUSTAINABILITY:

Grape skins are a by-product of winemaking and would usually be treated as waste. By extracting flavour from the grape skins after the winery is finished with them, the spirit is in essence, fully upcycled. In addition, cold distillation uses significantly less energy compared to traditional hot distillation, and the cooling water is perpetually recycled in a closed loop system, resulting in a significant net reduction in energy use.

Finally, the spent grape skins are converted into compost on site which nourishes botanical growth at the chemical free distillery garden.

WHAT DOES VACUUM DISTILLED SCOTTISH GRAPPA TASTE LIKE?

Nose: Honeysuckle & blackcurrant leaf 

Palate: Green plum, redcurrant, sultana and oolong tea

Finish: Green peppercorn and black tea 

THE BATCH:

Only 230 bottles were produced from the 2021 harvest. Each bottle individually hand numbered.

350ml @ 42.3% abv