Maxime Chapoutier, creator of Sothis gin grew up in a family of winemakers, established in the Rhône Valley since 1808. The family cultivates its vines with humility and the greatest respect for the balance of the soils and strives to allow the terroir to express itself freely. Maxime Chapoutier left his hometown in the Drôme region to travel the world’s wine regions. He experienced new countries and cultures and enjoyed enriching encounters with lovers of food, wine, and life, sharing a like-minded passion.
When Maxime returned to the family domaine on the Hermitage hillside, a botanist was enlisted to carry out research on “bio-indicator” plant species, and a floral identity map of each plot was drawn up to better understand their profiles. He was indirectly inspired by this experience and research, and his plant distillate trials originating from a specific plot led to the creation of this original gin, characterized by fresh aromas that reflect the flora of the terroir.
Grape variety/varieties: Organic grapes alcohol, juniper, aced, chamomile, yarrow, everlasting, wild thyme, verbena and sweet clover.
Soil: We source the botanicals from the terroirs of the Rhône corridor. The great complexity of this geological crossroads is derived from a severe erosion and glaciofluvial remanences associated with the alpine folds and which are made up of marls, clay-limestones and alluvium stretching as far as the magmatic and metamorphic edge of the Massif Central.
Vinification: To avoid competition between the botanicals and bring out the gin’s full aromatic profile, a first batch of plants is infused for 24 hours. This is then blended with the rest of the botanicals including the juniper. Finally, these are distilled for over 4 hours so that each element can express itself harmoniously. During the distillation, the elements will evaporate from the most volatile to the least volatile. This allows us to separate the substances according to their evaporation temperatures. However, the distillate is not just a sum of components, during the tasting, each molecule will influence and interact with the others in order to attach itself to the sensory receptors like a puzzle of aromatic engineering.
Sommelier’s advice: Serving temperature: between 4-8°C
Tasting notes:
Nose: The first nose is finely spiced then evolves and takes on more floral and exotic notes, from chamomile to mango.
Palate: From citrus to spices reminiscent of lemon thyme, verbena and the sappy character of the juniper. The bitterness adds depth and then fades away with some herbaceous notes.