Michel Couvreur, originally from Belgium, ages Scotch Whisky in the heart of Burgundy (Bouze-Les- Beaune). In the 1950’s he arrived in Burgundy to make and market wine. He took frequent trips to England and Scotland where he sold his wine, but was particularly drawn to Scotland for the fabulous fishing and hunting. In 1964 he moved to Scotland where he became involved in the production process of whisky made from a selection of the most ancient strains of cereals and using extremely rare sherry casks. The industry was changing in the whisky production and the old methods were being replaced by new cheaper ones. The old sherry casks traditionally used were replaced by steel or plastic so Michel returned to France in the 70’s to be nearer to where the sherry casks originate. He dug his own cellar in the hillsides of Bouze-les-Beaune, about midway between the Andalusian vineyards and the Scottish Highlands. His scotch matures there in these rare sherry casks; Pedro Ximenez and/or Palomino. The cellar is a 500-foot tunnel with galleries, kept humid by natural springs running through it. A small room far from any light called ‘the paradise’ shelters some rare, old and elegant nectar, carefully kept in sealed demijohns. The very humid cellar is the main factor behind the fast alcoholic reduction of the whiskies in their casks. The very fragrant floral and fruity aromas can therefore develop ideally and give Couvreur’s whiskies indeed a rare freshness while they age twice as fast.
