Cñia Mata Vermouth Blanco

Manufacturer's Notes: GRAPE: Blend of Doña Blanca and Godello VINIFICATION AND AGEING: The vinified wine macerates for approximately 40 days with various roots, flowers and savory herbs. Examples include bitter orange peel, sage, thyme and star anise. Once maceration is complete, the vermouth is filtered and slightly fortified. Wine spirits are added, along with a small amount of grape must, to create a rounder mouthfeel. My tasting: 3.9.22 Served: Neat, Flute (unchilled) Bottle Open: 2 Weeks Smells wonderfully intoxicating. Aromas of warm fig and freshly baked gingerbread. Breaking it down, the evident baking spices are ginger, clove, allspice, and cinnamon. I detect the thyme after reading about its inclusion. There is certainly an herbal note that mellows the aroma. Taste: Pleasantly sweet at first, with a bitter end. Predominant flavors on the tongue are again gingerbread baked with plenty of orange peel. This is a vermouth that should be the main element in a cocktail, not just a supporting one. My preferred method of using it is in a Spanish White Negroni, perhaps deserving the name "Negroni Blanco" (not to be confused with the Italian Negroni Bianco, promoted by Luxardo, or Wayne Collins' original White Negroni, which uses Suze). It is essential to use a gin with a simple character, to let the complexity of this vermouth stand out. Negroni Blanco: 1oz Gin De Mahon 1oz Mata Vermouth Blanco 1oz Luxardo Bitter Bianco Garnish with a fig and cinnamon stick.