It's not just stunning aromatic wines that are produced at Alsace's Domaine Weinbach. The Fallers also make a terrific range of artisanal Eau de Vie and Marc d'Alsace from Estate grown fruit, using a traditional Holstein still. These are some of the finest examples we have come across with incredible perfume and purity on both the nose and palate. After several years of enjoying these at the Domaine, we have brought in a few bottles to share with the trade. An Eau de Vie is a clear fruit-based spirit, rarely stored in wood and usually bottled, sold and enjoyed young. Marc is made using the same method, though using grape pumice as its base. Unlike other spirits, good Eau de Vie and Marc captures fresh, lively fruit flavours rather than the nutty depth achieved by oxidation and prolonged wood contact. The Faller's aim is to preserve as much of the fruit aromatics as possible, so you'll find delicate red fruits in the Marc de Pinot, musky spice character in the Marc de Gewürz, grapey florals in the Marc de Muscat and pure, yellow plum notes in the Mirabelle Eau de Vie. In ye olden times the spirit was drunk more as an anaesthetic against hard times and apparently Water of Life was 'invented' as a possible cure for Cholera. Today they can cure many more ills but are conventionally served as a digestif. Don't be surprised to find yourself using these remarkable essences post service to "take the edge off"!