|
“the best on the planet” SPIRIT & COCKTAIL MAGAZINE Germain-Robin, consistently reviewed as producing one of the finest distilled spirits in the world, was founded in 1981 when Ansley Coale gave a ride to vacationing hitchhiker Hubert Germain-Robin on a remote Mendocino County roadway. Hurbert, whose family firm had produced cognac since 1782, was seeking an opportunity to preserve 19th-century hand-distillation methods which have almost entirely disappeared in France. Returning to France, Hubert purchased a small antique cognac still from an abandoned distillery near Cognac, and he and Ansley installed it on Ansley's ranch in the mountains west of Ukiah. Only 80 barrels are produced each year. The founders made a significant discovery. The origins of cognac lie in the distillation of wine not fit for the table: the Cognac region produces a thin, unappealling wine based on undistinguished high-yield white grapes, which is why the wine came to be distilled into a spirit. In Mendocino County, home to world-class wine-grapes, initial experiments revealed that if the distilling wine is based on genuinely great grapes, the brandies are far superior to those made from the mediocre grapes such as pinot noir, semillon, and sauvignon blanc, which yield brandies that are notably richer, smoother, and, from their varietal characteristics, more complex than cognacs and armagnacs. In blind tastings, GERMAIN-ROBIN brandies routinely outscore higher-priced cognacs; Robb Report Magazine's expert panel recently selected the SELECT BARREL XO as the world's best liquor. The $350 ANNO DOMINI, released in 1999, is reviewed as one of the finest spirits ever produced. Germain-Robin alambic ("cognac-style") brandies are sold in 35 states and exported to Europe and Asia. A special blend is sold to the White House. Germain-Robin was poured at the Reagan-Gorbachev summit dinner and at the Clinton Inaugural. LOCATION TELEPHONE WEBSITE
Back to Participating Wineries
View
Auction Items ©
2002 Gateway School | All Rights Reserved |
