Freimeisterkollektiv Speckbirne

In stock

Sale price26,00 € inkl. MwSt. (52,00 €/L)
Content: 0.5 L

The Mostviertel region is aptly named: here, in the foothills of the Alps located southwest of the Waldviertel and Weinviertel, Most (fruit wine) is treated as a cultural asset. And while apple is the predominant fruit in most cider regions, in the Mostviertel, it is the pear. The region is characterized by meadow orchards that produce over 300 pear varieties. About 20 pear varieties are used for Most production.

One of these is the Speckbirne, which owes its name to the sheen of its skin. Its high sugar content, combined with low acidity and low tannin, makes it ideal for processing into juice or spirits. The Most derived from it is very mild, yet it has one of the highest alcohol contents of all cider pears.
Organic distiller Josef Farthofer takes inspiration from Pineau des Charentes for his Speckbirne, stopping the fermentation of his pear cider by adding pear brandy. This way, the natural sweetness is preserved without any added sugar. The cider fortified with pear brandy is stored in steel tanks.

Nose
Pear, vanilla, caramelized citrus fruits, honey
Palate
Pear, plum, toffee, caramelized citrus fruits
Finish
Honey, almond, vanilla
Alcohol content: 18.2% vol.


Production
Josef Farthofer is an organic farmer and pioneer who has established a self-sufficient production cycle covering everything from cultivation and harvest to maceration, distillation, and aging. With SPECKBIRNE 302, he interprets Pineau des Charentes, the liqueur wine popular in the French departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. While that traditional product uses grape must blended with Cognac, in the Mostviertel, pear forms the base. These are hand-harvested by "Mostbaron" Josef Farthofer and gently pressed. The juice is partially fermented, and the fermentation is later deliberately stopped by adding his own organic cider pear distillate. SPECKBIRNE 302 then matures in steel tanks and is bottled unfined and unfiltered, ensuring it is natural and amber-colored when it reaches the bottle.

Josef Farthofer
Distiller | Mostviertel, Lower Austria

Josef Farthofer is a farmer and passionate distiller. He converted both his farm and distillery to organic practices at a very early stage. It is not just the raw materials at Farthofer that are organic; he also strictly ensures throughout the production cycle that he grows as many raw materials himself as possible, efficiently reuses by-products like stillage, and feeds waste heat generated during distillation into the local grid to supply public facilities. The crystal-clear water for the spirits comes from a family-owned spring in the neighboring Mühlviertel. On the land surrounding the spring, Josef Farthofer has been working with the WWF and the State of Upper Austria for nearly 20 years on a conservation project aimed at reintroducing rare meadow-breeding birds.
His penchant for experimentation and creativity consistently result in new, extraordinary products. At the end of 2012, Farthofer won the IWSC medal and the coveted International Wine and Spirit Trophy in London for his O-Vodka as the best vodka in the world in the 40% alcohol, unflavored category. His O-Gin was awarded gold at the 2015 Craft Spirits Awards.

Shipping to Austria
Shipping DE | CH

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