Diciotto Lune Cask Porto – 500ml

Diciotto Lune Botte Porto, eighteen moons and then another eighteen

The Diciotto Lune Botte Porto from Marzadro is a Grappa Riserva with dual maturation: 18 months in cherry, ash, oak, and locust wood, followed by another 18 months in port wine casks. 36 months in total, fruity and smooth, 42% vol. The 500 ml bottle for those who want to get to know it.

Diciotto Lune Botte Porto is the Distilleria Marzadro’s Grappa Riserva for connoisseurs: it begins as the classic Le Diciotto Lune and matures for 18 months in small casks made from four types of wood. Then it is moved – into casks that previously held port wine. It remains there for another 18 moons. That makes 36 months in which two different styles come together: that of Trentino and that of the Douro.

With the first sip, you are caressed by fruity notes, delicate nuances of vanilla, and a hint of spice. The texture is smooth, the finish long and calm – and the 42% vol. never takes center stage. That is what a detour that was well worth it tastes like.

What the port wine cask adds

The second maturation in the port wine cask brings fruit and depth to the distillate and highlights the contrast between grappa and wood – that is exactly what defines this Riserva.

A cask is never truly empty: the grappa reclaims what the port wine has given to the wood over the years during its second eighteen moons. This adds a dark, fruity sweetness to the vanilla tone of the first maturation – and because Marzadro keeps only a limited number of selected casks for this, the quantity of this Riserva remains limited.

The contrast is exciting: the Trentino brandy remains dry and clear, while the Portuguese wood overlays it with fruit. Two landscapes in one glass, accustomed to each other for eighteen moons – and in the end, they talk to each other instead of drowning each other out.

The 500 ml bottle as an invitation

This format is the medium size in the range – convenient for getting to know it and lovely enough to give as a gift.

Drunk neat at room temperature, in a glass that tapers towards the top, it reveals everything it has to offer. It shines as a digestif after a good meal, and if you like, you can also try it in a cocktail – its port wine fruitiness holds its own there. If you decide you want it on your shelf permanently, it is also available as Botte Porto in the 700 ml bottle.

Five grape varieties from Trentino

The base consists of fresh pomace from five grape varieties – Marzemino, Teroldego, and Merlot account for 70 percent, while Muscat and Chardonnay make up the remaining 30.

It is distilled in a water bath, in discontinuous stills, as is the custom in Trentino; master distiller Andrea Marzadro only takes the heart of the run. The rest is patience: first the four woods, then the port wine cask. The more often a distillate changes wood, the more layers it acquires – and this one has two whole lives behind it.

Marzadro has been distilling since 1949, when Sabina Marzadro began processing the pomace of neighboring winemakers in Brancolino di Nogaredo – in the Adige Valley, right behind the mountains of Lake Garda. Today, Andrea, Anna, and Stefano run the house as a family business. To see how the grappa tastes without the detour through Portugal, take a look at the classic Le Diciotto Lune – and all of Marzadro's grappas can be found here together.

Two glasses side by side, an evening’s difference

At room temperature and with a few minutes to breathe, the port wine fruitiness comes to the fore. Dark chocolate and a piece of dried fruit pair perfectly with it – both pick up on its fruity side. And if you place two glasses side by side, the classic Diciotto Lune and this one, you will taste in a single evening what eighteen months in a port wine cask can do. A tasting that is well worth it.