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the marc-brandy

The aroma, the taste and the delicacy of a great "marc" depend entirely on the quality of the grapes. After having been pressed, without any pre-crushing, the grapes are gathered for maceration and fermentation, which lasts for one to two months.

We fill up a basket with 200 kilograms of crushed grapes and put them into a  copper still; then it's filled with water and heated with a water-bath. The alcohol evaporates. As it leaves the still it passes through a series of chilling pipes which condenses it.

The first distillation : The first litre of alcohol that comes out of the still measures 55°. This is followed by the main part of the "marc" which maesures between 50° and 30°. Anything that comes out at less than 30° is put to one side for the second distillation along with the first litre to avoid the bitter tastes (tails) and ether (heads).

The second distillation : This enables us to get the final eau-de-vie. At this point know-how and experience are essential. Only the best parts are re-distilled and measure an average of 65°. We try to get rid of any unwanted bits in this distillation:  the heads ( which at the beginning of the process give bitterness and the  tails which are too coarse). The hearts are then left to age in a barrel.