Vermouth De Muller Iris Rojo

The Muller family has made wine in Tarragona, Catalonia, since 1854, and Iris Rojo is one of its oldest products, an aperitif vermouth with more than a century behind it. The wine sits in the Catalan vermouth tradition centred on Reus, where a base of local wine is fortified and flavoured by long maceration. Here more than 150 botanicals and plants typical of the Mediterranean are steeped in the wine following the house's old and largely secret formulas, the wormwood that names the style joined by rosemary, anise and fennel among many aromatic herbs and bittering roots. The long maceration draws aromatic oils and bitter compounds into the wine, while caramelised must adds sweetness and the deep colour, and a period of resting marries the parts. The colour is a deep red. The nose is complex and herbal, led by wormwood, rosemary, anise and fennel over ripe fruit. The palate is sweet and full, the botanical bitterness and Mediterranean herbs giving structure and a long, balsamic finish. Serve over ice with a slice of orange as an aperitif, or at cool cellar temperature in a tumbler. It also works after a meal and alongside charcuterie.