When the wine has been pressed off, something is still left in the press. Skins, pips and a little wine that never quite became wine. In most places it goes back out onto the field. In North Zealand it is gathered up and put on the still instead.
The expert's description
ELG Marc Danish Premium Small Batch 50 cl 40% is a Danish Marc distilled from the pomace of the house's own wine production and bottled at 40%.
Marc, Trester and Grappa are one and the same type of spirit under three names. France says Marc, Germany says Trester and Italy says Grappa, and what unites them is the raw material: whatever remains once the grapes have been fermented and pressed. Skins and pips still hold wine, and that wine is the entire basis of the spirit.
The grapes for ELG Marc come exclusively from the distillery's own vineyards, which run down towards Esrum Lake in North Zealand. That is an unusual arrangement for Danish spirits, where the raw material is almost always bought in. Here the grapes are grown, pressed into wine, and the pomace moves on to the still at the same address. Distillation is by double column, and the distiller follows the run from the first drop to the last in order to keep only the heart.
The spirit is then reduced to 40% and bottled in the old apothecary bottles ELG uses across its whole range. Behind the bottles stands Stone Grange distillery, established in 2009, which alongside Marc also makes Gin, Vodka, Brandy, Apple Brandy and Absinthe. The brandy and this Marc share their source, since both are built on grapes from the house's own fields.
Tasting notes
Nose
Grape skin and pip, dry and slightly rough at the edge. Behind it sit plum and a cool stony note, and a green draught of vine leaf runs over the top of it all.
Palate
Dry and forceful from the first sip. There is grape in it but no sweetness, and halfway through an oily pip note steps forward with the light bitterness typical of the whole Marc, Trester and Grappa family.
Finish
Clean and warm. The pip and the green note hold on for a while, and the mouth is left dry rather than coated.
Specifications
Name: ELG Marc Danish Premium Small Batch 50 cl 40%
Distillery: Stone Grange
Region/Country: North Zealand, Denmark
Type: Danish Marc
ABV: 40%
Size: 50 CL
Distillation method: Double column distillation
Edition: Small Batch
Flavour profile
Dry · Grape Skin · Pip · Herbal · Powerful
Investment potential
Medium. Production is very small and tied to the harvest on the distillery's own fields, and a Danish Marc built on estate-grown grapes has very few parallels in the country.
Did you know?
Only 30 to 40 litres of ELG Marc are made each year. The quantity is not a decision but a consequence of how much pomace the harvest by Esrum Lake actually yields. A poor year simply means less. The arithmetic is that plain.
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