Raspberry: Fermentation vs Maceration, or France vs Austria?
October 1, 2023
Being low in sugar, raspberries are not the first fruit on the distiller's list. For the most part, raspberry eaux-de-vie are geists: distilled macerations. Here and there though, producers are fermenting pure fruit mashes. This requires extreme quantities of the precious berry, upwards of 20kg per litre of product at 50%. Needless to say, such bottlings don't come cheap. Expert Andy G says that he finds macerations often retain more pure raspberry notes, while fermentation can produce more complexity but sometimes a loss of pure raspberry character. Today, we have two fermented products from Austria, and three from France which I believe to all be macerations. These were tasted and scored semi-blind, head-to-head. Fermentation came out well ahead for us (or was it Austria?).
Nusbaumer (Alsace, France) – Framboise (Raspberry), c. 2022, 45%
Continuing our exploration of Nusbaumer via their sets of miniatures. We greatly appreciate miniatures at Clear Libations. This is distilled from a maceration involving 8kg fruit per litre of alcohol.
Nose Moderate expressivity - I find some lemon, raspberry bushes, ethanol, forest fruit boiled sweets, bubblegum. The fruit is definitely there, but this is coming across like a maceration based spirit with its relative lightness.
Palate Good balance of mild sweetness and spice, somewhere between spearmint and cinnamon. Then we find a good bit of raspberry esteriness, both boiled sweets and fresh. The finish is medium, mostly remaining on raspberry notes. Guessing this is the Nusbaumer. (Ed: now you're showing off.)
Comments Decent, but leaves something to be desired. Not much change with water, maybe a touch more fruit on the palate.
Price around €45 per 70cl.
Score?5/10
Kirsch et Terroir, Ferme Chassard (Haute-Saône, France) – Framboise (Raspberry), c. 1990, 45%
Another older miniature, with good fill, from this collective of small producers. We really enjoyed their plum...
Nose Oh, weird. This is fishy, particularly anchovy, brine. Beyond that, some raspberry jam, but it's hard to smell past the fish (methanol?). Don't mind a bit of that in the right context, but not with my raspberry jam.
Palate Not much better here. Flat on the arrival, there is more of the brine and anchovy at first. The finish clings on for a bit and here we find fleeting touches of fresh raspberry.
Comments Something has gone wrong here I think, only the finish redeems it slightly. Couldn't finish it. This is a shame, because we greatly enjoyed some of Ferme Chassard's other offerings, and found a family resemblance in them which is totally absent here.
Price Unknown
Score?2/10
Rochelt (Tyrol, Austria) – Waldhimbeere (Wild Raspberry), L. 8/21, 52%
Always a pleasure to have Rochelt on the tasting table. Interesting that they have chosen 52% here, over the usual 50%. This is a pure fruit mash, no maceration - the claim is that up to 60kg of raspberries per litre of product are needed. Correspondingly, I believe this is the priciest bottle from this pricy producer. This should be either the 2013 (matured 7 years in glass) or 2016 (matured 5 years in glass).
Nose This is lovely. Very aromatic raspberry, fresh this time, as if I were in a raspberry warehouse in summer. A lot of rosewater, perhaps a few blackberries? Lemon drizzle cake, soft cinnamon, spearmint. Overall this is comparable to [the Gölles] but a bit fresher and richer. Can take a drop of water, becomes slightly misty, and slightly sweeter.
Palate Quite some weight here, very floral at first (rose), then rather grippy and citrussy (lots of lemon zest, a little pith), with some bitterness (leaves?). Some nuttiness on the midpalate, acidic fresh raspberry, seeds. Long finish, with lemon drizzle cake, fresh raspberries. It does take a drop of water, which gives everything more room.
Comments If you are expecting pure raspberry on the palate, you are going in with the wrong mindset. I adore this nose, the palate is more challenging but still very good.
Price around €350 per 35cl.
Score?7/10
Massenez (Alsace, France) – Framboise Sauvage (Wild Raspberry), c. 1990, 43%
An older miniature with a good fill level from this well known producer.
Nose This one is fairly neutral. If I'm reaching, there are some berries in the far distance, a little mustiness.
Palate Again, quite neutral. There is some sweetness and a little mustiness, and eventually a little raspberry in the finish. Nothing offensive here, just not a lot either.
Comments Again, this is an older miniature, and may not represent today's bottlings.
Price Unknown
Score?3/10
Gölles (Styria, Austria) – Himbeer (Raspberry), L. 2017, 43%
Why have we tasted so many Gölles? Are we on the take? No - we were rather impressed by one or two, and so swiftly bought almost the entire range in 50ml miniatures. Here, 29kg of fruit per litre are claimed - this is another fermented mash.
Nose Another strong impression with this one, just behind [the Rochelt]. Very aromatic fresh raspberries, quite perfumed, perhaps a touch of rose or raspberry blossom. Victoria sponge, with raspberry jam, naturally. Camomile too.
Palate Moderate arrival. Some decent grip here, very pleasant spice (cinnamon? marjoram?), rosewater, camomile, sweet raspberry. Really very floral overall, almost soapy in places (but nice). Finish is medium, with a little more sweetness (sugar cane?), and fresh raspberry coming more to the fore. Just a hair thin here and there.
Comments As with the Rochelt, I prefer the nose to the palate, but both are very good. Water doesn't change much. With a little higher proof, this might be on par with the Rochelt - it's not too far behind as things stand.
Price around €93 per 35cl.
Score?7-/10