Jacoulot Marc de Bourgogne

Marc, aka pomace brandy, is a special spirit and, for many, an acquired taste. It's made from the dregs of wine production (skins, seeds, etc.). There are many varieties, grappa being the most well known, but from Burgundy comes Marc de Bourgogne. Jacoulot is one of the most prominent producers (and one of the few imported to the US). It's made from from Pinot Noir waste materials.

Jacoulot Marc de Bourgogne, 7 yo, 45% abv ($90 for 1 liter)

The nose is funky and earthy with some old rotting garbage notes. On the palate it's just a funk-fest of earthy notes, with dirt and really strong French cheese rind, wild mushrooms and grape seeds. The finish is minty and spicy with raisins and a sweet, stewed fruit on the nose as you exhale.

This is marc! It's funky and weird and wonderful. It takes you on a roller coaster from garbage to subtle grape notes...repulsive and endearing at the same time. It's like the durian of spirits.

If you like Marc or you just want a fabulously bizarre spirit experience, definitely pick up some of this stuff.

Brandies We Need More Of

As regular readers know, this is the Golden Age of Brandy. There are amazing brandies out there that are reasonably priced, but they are still mostly limited to a few markets. Here are three French brandies I'd like to see more of in more places in the US.

1.  Armagnac. I've been raving about Armagnac for the past couple of years, but the amazing bottles from small growers are mostly going to just a few US locations like K&L, D&M and Astor Wines. In most of the rest of the country, even in many great liquor stores, there's not much in the way of great Armagnac except for the Darroze bottlings (which are very good). This is likely due to the nature of the industry. Most of the best stuff comes from small grower/producers who don't always have huge stocks. Then again, there are a lot of small grower/producers so hopefully we will have a chance to get more and more.

2. Calvados. This stunning apple/pear brandy from Normandy may be the most underrated spirit around right now. One of the best spirits I had last year was a Calvados. While Camut is excellent Calvados which is fairly available, there are around 200 Calvados producers, very few of which make it to the US. I'm planning on drinking a lot of Calvados this year, but I'd love to see more of the good stuff.

3. Marc. Marc is French pomace brandy, made from the leftovers from wine making (skins, pulp, seeds, etc.). It is similar to Italian grappa except that where grappa is usually unaged, some marks are aged in oak (and others in glass or stone). It is made in various regions which are included in the name of the spirit (e.g. Marc de Bourgogne from Burgandy or Marc de Champagne, etc.). Marc is funky, funky stuff with all kinds of crazy earthy, musty notes. I've only had a few but would love to try more.

Hopefully more retailers will figure out that brandy is a happening spirit and start giving us some variety.