Michel Couvreur Couvreur's Clearach Single Malt Whisky

In the 1950’s, Michel Couvreur, originally from Belgium, landed in Burgundy to make and market wine there. He took frequent trips to England and Scotland to sell his wines but was always particularly drawn to Scotland for the fishing and hunting. Eventually, he decided to move to Scotland in 1964 and became enamored with the production of whisky, from the selection of the most ancient strains of cereals to seeking out extremely rare Sherry casks for aging. It became Michel’s dream to make his own unique Scotch whiskies, but unfortunately, times were changing; many of these old methods were being replaced by new, cheaper ones, swapping the old, traditionally-used Sherry casks for more cost-effective steel or plastic vessels. Because of this, Michel decided to return to France in the 1970's to be nearer to where the Sherry casks originate, digging his own cellar in the hillsides of Bouze-lès-Beaune in the heart of the Côte-d'Or, Burgundy.

Here, about midway between the Andalusian vineyards and the Scottish Highlands, Michel Couvreur continues on the tradition of maturing his whiskies in these rare, old casks. Lots of time and money is spent searching out old Pedro Ximénez, Palomino, and Vin Jaune casks as Michel believes what was in the barrel previously represents up to 90% of the final quality of the whisky. Extensive barrel aging, tasting, and monitoring are required to extract these old wine complexities hidden in the casks, and according to Couvreur, this is one of the reasons their whiskies are so attractive to many wine drinkers. Unfortunately, Michel passed away in August 2013, but lucky for us, he shared many of his secrets with his wife, Marthe, and daughter, Alexandra, as well as his long-time employee and confident, Jean-Arnaud Frantzen, and his son-in-law, Cyril Deschamps. They are now entrusted to carry on the legacy of the true “Last of the Mohicans" of artisanal Scotch whisky.

Country: Burgundy, France

Tasting note: Produced from malt distilled in Scotland and matured between 2 to 3 years in fresh PX sherry casks. Slightly cloudy, pale gold/ brassy colour. Mildly prickly, restrained opening sniff. Meek breakfast cereal aromas, followed by hints of dried fruit and a faint rubbery edge. Doesn't really budge even after several minutes coaxing in the glass. Clean, dryish, light to medium bodied profile delivers a malty, cereal mid palate, thinning out towards the finish which is vanilla wafer like and carried by the spices. Simple and raw. 43% Alc./Vol.

精挑細琢的手工、法國境內熟成、蘇格蘭原酒，兼具三種相異特色的Michel Couvreur，帶有一層神秘面紗。

品牌創辦人Michel Couvreur是布根地釀酒商，在1950年代初次見識到蘇格蘭威士忌後便愛不釋手，1964年甚至直接搬到蘇格蘭學習威士忌的釀造工法。

經過了十年的精心研究，Couvreur回到法國後，選擇在葡萄酒市鎮金丘（Cote d'Or）附近的Bouze-Les-Beaune，量身打造屬於自己心目中的專屬熟成酒窖。Couvreur將威士忌熟成分為兩區，乾燥區與另一區有非常潮濕、陰涼的特性。