Le Baume de Bouteville - Handcrafted French balsamic

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La Compagnie de Bouteville

1 Rue Montmorency

16120 Bouteville, FRANCE

Tel. +33 5 45 64 92 76

For questions and orders, contact us here

Please note that due to small production capacity we need to prioritize our existing customers.

We like to keep it simple, and use only three ingredients:

French balsamic vinegar aged in Cognac cask
The Baume de Bouteville is a handcrafted French balsamic vinegar, produced in the village of Bouteville in the Cognac area of western France. It is crafted from freshly harvested Ugni Blanc grapes, which descend from the same grape families as the world-renowned Trebbiano and white St-Émilion. After the “chauffe” process (heating at more than 60°C) in copper pot alembics, the Baume de Bouteville is carefully aged for several years in oak barrels that previously contained Cognac.

Through this process, the Baume de Bouteville receives a sublime and fruity note that sets it apart from Italian balsamic produced in Modena. In fact, the intention of the Baume de Bouteville's creators is not to copy or reproduce traditional balsamic, but to create something similar - with a distinct French touch. The founder and maître de chai has been responsible for its natural and handcrafted production, selection and storage for many years. The entire production in Bouteville is done on a small scale in order to guarantee the highest quality.

The Baume de Bouteville's quality depends on six main production steps:

Our supplying vineyards take care of the grapes during winter, spring and summer.
At harvest in September: 100% freshly pressed grape juice (with pulp) is delivered to the production site, "chauffe" in copper pot alembics for 24 hours.
Decanting of the now concentrated grape juice for six months, slow settling of the lees.
The juice is transferred to oak barrels (having contained eau-de-vie from the region) in our ageing cellar, where it starts the slow and controlled transformation process for a minimum of 18 months.
The four seasons and the temperature variations of the French Atlantic climate are necessary for the natural transformation process.
After supervision of the aging process, and careful selection by our cellar master, the now finished Baume de Bouteville is poured into bottles - ready for you to enjoy.

The Baume de Bouteville reaches 'high quality' at three years of aging, and 'supreme quality' at 10. Because grape quality varies from year to year (depending on microclimate, sun hours and vintage), the final product is divided up into different "séléctions". The young Baume de Bouteville, "l'Original," is a blend between two and five years of age. The older two, "vieille réserve" and "réserve exclusive," are single casks aged for six and 10 years.

Customers, including renowned French chefs, use it as an invigorating ingredient for crustaceans, oysters, salads and other gourmet dishes. Some even enjoy it in its purest form in a wine glass.

Check out our recipes.

Time.

Producteur Artisan de Qualité

Selected unanimously by France's 15 leading chefs under presidency of Joel Robuchon and Alain Ducasse

*note: those flavors are not added, but naturally developed by the grape. slight variations over the years may occur (due to changes in climate, sun hours, vintages) and a sign of natural quality.

*note: those flavors are not added, but naturally developed by the grape. slight variations over the years may occur (due to changes in climate, sun hours, vintages) and are a sign of natural quality.