XA Rarities
XA stands for extra aged. Five vintages between 1995 and 2003, hand-numbered, bottled in small quantities.
XA Williams Pear Brandy - 2003
XA Alte Zwetschke Plum Brandy 1999
XA Alter Apfel Apple Brandy - 1995
XA Gravensteiner Apple Brandy - 1999
XA Rowanberry Brandy - 2000
Five vintages, and none will return
2003 was the first summer in which global warming was clearly palpable. Hot, dry, and the pear trees had to deliver. The concentration and minerality that went into the fruit back then can still be smelled in the bottle today. A vintage cannot be repeated, not even with the same trees.
The XA Alter Apfel and the XA Gravensteiner come from oak barrels, the XA Williams from glass demijohns. Both are ways of aging, and they lead to very different results. In glass, the fruit remains at the forefront; in the barrel, wood layers itself over it.
Whatever is in these bottles was drawn years ago and has been stored ever since in a safe built specifically for that purpose. Only when one vintage is gone is the next barrel opened. There is no reordering.
Thirty years is not a promise, but a risk.
A brandy that you store away in 1995 may be magnificent in twenty years, or it may not. No one knows that beforehand, and no one can make adjustments. What evaporates during that time cannot be retrieved, and what happens in the wood cannot be controlled.
That is why there is so little of it. Not because we are withholding it, but because someone set a barrel aside thirty years ago without knowing whether it would pay off.
Frequently asked questions about our XA
Für extra alt. Diese Brände liegen zwei Jahrzehnte und länger, bevor sie abgefüllt werden. Sie tragen einen Jahrgang und sind handnummeriert.
Fünf: Alter Apfel 1995, Gravensteiner 1999, Alte Zwetschke 1999, Vogelbeer 2000 und Williams 2003.
Nein. Der XA Williams reift im Glasballon und bleibt klar, die anderen kommen aus dem Eichenfass. Im Glas bleibt die Frucht vorne, im Fass legt sich Holz darüber.
Nein. Was abgefüllt ist, ist abgefüllt. Erst wenn ein Jahrgang aus ist, wird das nächste Fass geöffnet.
Zwischen 40 und 45 Prozent, je nach Jahrgang und Sorte. Abgefüllt wird in 700-ml-Flaschen.
Bei 15 bis 20 Grad, im hohen tulpenförmigen Glas, höchstens bis zu einem Drittel gefüllt. Ohne Eis, ohne Eile.
Bitters | Liqueurs | Vermouth
Not a pure distillate. Fruits, green walnuts, or wormwood are added here.
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