Grappa Amphora – 200ml

Grappa Anfora, ten months in clay

Marzadro’s Grappa Anfora in a 200 ml bottle: a spirit made from six Trentino grape varieties, aged in Tuscan terracotta amphorae. Rich in aroma, soft and elegant on the palate, 43% ABV. The small bottle for an unusual production method.

Grappa Anfora is the spirit with which Distilleria Marzadro strikes a new path: it is not aged in oak barrels, but in clay amphorae – affinata in terracotta. This process takes ten months, resulting in an aged grappa that retains its fruitiness because the clay itself imparts nothing to the spirit. The 200 ml bottle is the quick way to experience this concept.

On the nose, it is rich and assertive: ripe fruit, a hint of honey, noble spice. On the palate, it is soft and elegant, with notes of dried fruit, chocolate, and almonds; the finish remains long and rounded. The 43% ABV carries it smoothly.

The oldest vessel of mankind

Before there were barrels, there were amphorae: for thousands of years, humans stored wine, oil, and honey in clay vessels.

Marzadro has applied this ancient form to a new purpose – and discovered something that wood cannot do. Terracotta allows twice as much oxygen to reach the distillate as oak, yet it does not impart any flavor of its own. It is the oxygen that rounds out a spirit over the months, whereas wood normally contributes color, vanilla, and spice as well. Here, the grappa gains only softness while retaining its own fruit. An old technique, re-imagined – and it works.

This is visible even in the glass: where a barrel-aged grappa glows with an amber hue, the Anfora remains light. The color comes from the wood, and clay does not impart color. What you see here is the spirit itself.

Two hundred milliliters for the curious

This bottle is for anyone who wants to know what an aged grappa tastes like without the wood influence.

The Anfora is an outlier, and that is precisely why this small introduction is worth it: those who expect the usual amber tones will be surprised here. Drunk neat at room temperature alongside a glass of Le Diciotto Lune, the difference is immediate – the same distillery, the same care, two completely different paths. At this size, the comparison costs little and explains a lot. The full-size version is available as a 700 ml bottle.

Clay from Montelupo and Impruneta

The amphorae are crafted specifically for Marzadro – from clay and loam from two Tuscan towns known for their pottery since the Middle Ages.

Montelupo and Impruneta are located near Florence, and the earth found there has been shaped into jugs, tiles, and vessels for centuries. The fact that this very material helps a Trentino grappa achieve its softness is a beautiful connection between two landscapes: craftsmanship from one valley, distillate from the other. A potter in Tuscany forms a vessel, a master distiller in Trentino fills it – two crafts that never meet yet work together.

The contents themselves originate from indigenous Trentino vines – 80 percent Teroldego, Marzemino, and Merlot; 20 percent Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau, and Muscat. It is distilled in copper stills in Nogaredo, in the Adige Valley near Lake Garda, where Sabina Marzadro began in 1949. All Marzadro grappas are available here for you.

In cocktails, it brings clarity instead of wood

At room temperature in a tulip-shaped glass, with a moment to breathe, notes of honey and dried fruit emerge. It pairs naturally with almonds, dried fruit, and dark chocolate because it already carries those aromas. And in a cocktail, it brings clarity instead of wood – two glasses are enough to tell if you like it.