Rowanberry Redux
September 10, 2023
Rowanberry was our first line-up on Clear Libations, and it's a distillate I'm always keen to try. I have an hypothesis that conventionally less palatable fruits have a lot of potential as eau de vie. Moreover, they are in season. So today we have two of Austria's finest, along with an old miniature from Théo Preiss in Alsace. These were tasted and score semi-blind as usual, with some Reisetbauer on the side as control.
Gölles (Styria, Austria) – Vogelbeer (Rowanberry), L. 2017, 43%
Gölles claim 29kg of berries per litre. The brandy is released after 2 years of aging in glass balloon.
Nose Good start. This is quite a rich and full nose. Marzipan predominates, but is not overbearing, being balanced off by the more tart side of ripe rowans. That tartness almost verges on a slight whiff of vinegar, which I find very nice.
Palate Smooth delivery (not necessarily good or bad in our book, just means the attack is gentle). Glides in, then shows some grip after a second. Gently spicy, rich taste of tart rowanberries balanced beautifully against the sweetness of its buds and blossom. Sweet grapefruits, white pepper and other fruity spices. It's a touch thin in places perhaps, but the finish is fairly long, with a mild sweetness.
Comments This is great, not hugely complex but very satisfying and drinkable.
Price around €90 per 35cl.
Score?7/10
Théo Preiss (Alsace, France) – Sorbier (Rowanberry), c. 1990, 45%
Théo Preiss are an old operation in Mittelwihr, still producing quite a range of eaux de vie. This is an old miniature, probably from the 90s or 80s, with a cm or so of evaporation. Possibly not the best storage conditions. Purchased recently in the little treasure trove Le Temps Du Vin in Bergerac. Why review such a thing? Well, we are charting the world of eaux de vie, which includes all extant bottles. This is neither a buyer's guide nor an exercise in flattery. Of course, for old bottles, condition may vary.
Nose Rather quieter here, seeming a bit diluted or distant. There is some tart red fruit, towards currants, and almonds for sure (almond flour?), orange juice, far off marzipan. So there is some typicity, but just not much jumping out.
Palate Better here, but still a bit flat. Faded lemon and lime syrup, some astringent rowans, some mustiness. Finish is fairly short, but has a bit of astringent bite, which I like.
Comments Palate redeems things a bit. Not bad. Take the score with our caveats in mind.
Price Unknown
Score?4/10
Guglhof (Salzburg, Austria) – Vogelbeer (Rowanberry), Reserve 2018, 41%
Supposedly the oldest distillery in Austria, tracing its history back to 1641. Its reputation is rather high, so I was excited to have this one in the line up.
Nose This one is again rather nice. It has less marzipan than [the Gölles], and is more on tart fruits: rowanberry but also cranberry. A hint of something almost sulphurous, like a struck match, but it works. Foliage, cherry menthol lozenges, oyster mushrooms. Shows some complexity, although lacks a bit of power to really back that up.
Palate Again, smooth delivery. Then certainly some grip, very mild almond sweetness balanced with rowanberry astringency. Quite a long development, lots of sweet citrus, a hint of iodine, those menthol cherry lozenges again. Develops on sweet flowers and foliage. The finish is quite long and pleasantly bittersweet, just as if we had chewed some very fine rowanberries.
Comments Again, really good stuff here and it edges ahead of Gölles. I can only imagine what it would do at higher proof.
Price around €60 per 35cl.
Score?7+/10