L'Élixir de la Dame — Saveurs de la Forêt

Name: L'Élixir de la Dame — Saveurs de la Forêt
Brand: Maison Dâme
Rating: 7.6 (1 reviews)

Maison Dâme

Charente , Francia

7.6 /10

Vermutpedia Score: 7.6/10

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Overall impression

L'Élixir de la Dame — Saveurs de la Forêt is the winter dry vermouth of the Elixir range by Maison Dâme, created in 2016 by Romuald Vincent in Saint-Brice, near Jarnac in Charente, according to maisondame.com. The house revives the vin médicinal tradition practised by the canons of Châtre abbey until the eighteenth century, making artisan vermouths with more than fifteen wild plants hand-gathered in the village's forests, undergrowth, meadows and orchards according to season. La Forêt is the driest, most herbaceous expression of the four seasonal «Saveurs»: winter, mentholated and resinous profile, opposite the summer sweetness of Verger. According to maison-soulat.fr, it is made with hawthorn flowers, valerian root and rosehip berries from Saint-Brice, macerated in organic white wine—Ugni Blanc according to distribution sheet—mutated with Charentais Cognac and completed with local flower honey. For Vermutpedia, La Forêt represents Charentais winter vermouth: dry, forest, vin medicinal technique and Charentais terroir verifiable in Maison Dâme's official sources.

Nose and palate

Maison Dâme describes on maisondame.com a fresh, mentholated attack over fir and linden notes, sustained by rich, unctuous texture continuing with good acidity, lemon zest note and light bitterness at the end. The maison-soulat.fr sheet adds a fine, soft nose with citrus, white fruit and wild-flower aromas; on the palate, fir and linden over unctuous texture, acidity with lemon zest and light bitterness on the close. The profile is dry—the driest of the range—but not austere: local honey and Cognac bring roundness without cloying. Forest botanicals—gathered in winter in the village heights—dominate over base-wine fruit. Compared with Prairie (spring, demi-doux) or Verger (summer, doux), La Forêt is more vertical, resinous and fresh. On the finish, prolonged menthol and herbal bitterness, inviting a second cold sip. For anyone seeking artisan French vermouth with forest identity and not classic Italian profile, Saveurs de la Forêt offers a clear seasonal experience: Charentais winter in the glass.

How to serve it

Maison Dâme and maison-soulat.fr recommend tasting La Forêt neat or in cocktails, with possible use in original cooking sauces. As a dry winter aperitif, served very cold in a small glass or short tumbler with ice, the mentholated, resinous profile works as a light digestif or meal opener on cold days. In cocktails, it is a natural candidate for a Charentais Martini—gin or vodka with forest dry vermouth—or a highball with soda and lemon twist enhancing the citrus zest of the finish. Also in dry spritz with soda water for appetisers without sweetness. Once opened, keep refrigerated up to six months according to the distribution sheet. In cooking, the house suggests incorporating it in sauces where fir and linden add herbal depth. Pairs with goat cheese, smoked fish, mushrooms and cold winter starters. For Vermutpedia, La Forêt is drunk cold, with moderate ice and without mixing with sweet vermouths: its value lies in winter dry character and Charentais artisan seasonality.

Production context

Maison Dâme was born in 2016 in the family house in Saint-Brice, near Jarnac, to valorise regional spirits in decline and revive the medicinal elixir of Châtre abbey. Romuald Vincent gathers more than fifteen wild flowers, roots and berries by hand in forests, undergrowth, meadows and orchards according to season and desired aromatic properties; each vermouth follows an original recipe known only to the cellar master according to maisondame.com. Extraction by cold maceration, distillation or infusion depending on the plant; blend with wines and Cognac from the Charentais country plus village flower honey. La Forêt: winter dry vermouth, organic Ugni Blanc, 18% vol., 50 cl according to maison-soulat.fr. Fourth season of the range alongside Sous-Bois (autumn), Prairie (spring) and Verger (summer). 100% manual production according to house philosophy. For Vermutpedia, Saveurs de la Forêt is the dry, boreal pole of the Elixirs: winter, forest, Saint-Brice, Cognac and sixteenth-century monastic panacea reinterpreted by Romuald Vincent.