CHARTREUSE - Yellow Cuvée of the MOF - Best Craftsmen of France Sommeliers - 2023 Edition - 45% ABV
The Order of the Chartreuse had existed for more than 500 years when, in 1605, in a Chartreuse monastery in Vauvert, a small suburb of Paris, the monks received a historic treasure: an ancient manuscript of an "Elixir" nicknamed the "Elixir of Long Life." This precious document was likely the work of a 16th-century alchemist, an expert in herbalism, mastering the art of assembling, infusing, and macerating 130 plants and herbs to create a tonic with perfectly balanced virtues. The complexity of the recipe indicates that only extracts were initially understood and exploited at Vauvert. It was at the beginning of the 18th century that this manuscript was transferred to the Order's Mother House, La Grande Chartreuse, located in the mountains near Grenoble. The monastery's apothecary, Brother Jérôme Maubec, finally succeeded in uncovering the secret and, in 1737, he wrote the practical formula for preparing this divine Elixir, which was implemented from 1764 onward. In 1903, the Chartreuse distillery was nationalized by the French government, leading to the expulsion of the monks. However, following the 1929 bankruptcy, the monks recovered the Chartreuse brand, regained possession of their distillery built in 1860 at Fourvoirie, near the Monastery, and relaunched production of the authentic Chartreuse liqueurs. In 1935, after a landslide nearly destroyed Fourvoirie, production was transferred to Voiron, where it remains today.
The rigorous selection, meticulous grinding, and secret blending of the herbs, plants, and medicinal botanicals used for making the liqueurs are carried out within the monastery itself by only two monks. Once this expert blend is made, the ingredients are sent to Voiron, where they are first macerated in a highly selected alcohol before being carefully distilled. Finally, these precious liqueurs undergo prolonged aging for several years in immense oak barrels, stored in a maturation cellar renowned for its exceptional aging durations—the longest in the world.
Born from an exclusive collaboration with the Best Craftsmen of France Sommeliers, the story of this unique cuvée of the famous Chartreuse liqueur began in 2007. This revisited version of the Yellow Chartreuse, also called Clos des Spiritueux, stands out for its remarkable balance: a liqueur both rich in character and highly accessible, combining sweetness and liveliness, freshness and power, complexity and aromatic intensity.
