Why is Leblon Cachaça so special? Why does it taste so good?
Leblon’s secret is how it’s made. In the Heart of Brazil. In Minas Gerais. At the Maison Leblon, Brazil’s Finest Distillery – a showcase for making fine Cachaça in Brazil. And Gilles Merlet, the renowned Master Distiller, originally from Cognac, France, now in Brazil creating our world-class Cachaça.
The Maison Leblon is located in Patos de Minas, a city in the Heart of Brazil’s premiere cane and Cachaça region, Minas Gerais.
Nowhere in Brazil does the cane grow taller and juicier than in Patos de Minas, a fertile area with a special microclimate and high altitude.
The Cane is harvested by hand by machete. The top and bottom of the stalks are lopped off, leaving only the heart of the cane stalk. The cane is quickly delivered for pressing in less than three hours to the Maison.
The freshly-pressed cane juice is fermented using proprietary yeasts derived from our sugar cane that converts all the sugars into alcohol molecules, resulting in amazing aroma of the cane. All aspects of the fermentation are controlled in the Maison’s state-of-the-art fermentation room.
After approximately 15 hours, the fermentation "must" is left to rest or "decant," and then transferred to artisanal copper alambique pot stills for small-batch distillation. A simple single batch distillation results in a spectacular nose and complex flavors. The ‘head' and the 'tail' of the batch are liberally removed, leaving the delicate heart of the distillation.
The Cachaça is polished by resting in vintage XO Cognac casks for up to 6 months, resulting in an ultra smooth flavor while retaining the distillate’s spectacular nose achieved in fermentation and via the single-batch alambique distillation.
Different batches over the course of the harvest yield different sensorial results. Batches are artfully combined and blended to maximize taste complexity and aroma.
The Cachaça is organically triple-filtered using a proprietary French technique perfected by the Merlet family over centuries of Cognac production.
Different batches over the course of the harvest yield different sensorial results. Batches are artfully combined and blended to maximize taste complexity and aroma.
The entire process is shepherded by Gilles Merlet, the renowned Master Distiller, originally from Cognac, France, now Brazil’s innovative Cachaça maker with a passion to showcase the Brazilian distillates’ full potential to the world.
