Dubonnet Rouge (75cl, 14.8%)

Dubonnet Rouge is a French-origin quinquina aperitif wine blending fortified wine with quinine and botanicals, bottled in a 750ml bottle at 14.8% ABV. It was created in 1846 by Parisian chemist Joseph Dubonnet. The French expression begins with Roussillon wines made from five grape varietals, fortified and aged three to four years in oak vats. Its percolation process pumps a flavoured mistelle under pressure through percolators containing cocoa beans, quinine, colombo, orange peel, Colombian green coffee, cinnamon, camomile and elderflower, repeated over eight hours. The nose shows ripe red cherries, raspberries and blackberries, with pinecone, sage, bay leaf and orange zest. The palate is rich and sweet with red fruit and fig, then bittersweet quinine and herbs such as rosemary, bay leaf and cinnamon, with caramel and tart cranberry. The finish is medium, with bittersweet quinine bark and warm spice.