Tarragone Fabriquee Yellow 1973 - 85
⏳ wine.drinking_window
This historic bottling is fully mature and, due to its high alcohol and sugar content, virtually immortal; it is drinking beautifully now and will easily endure for decades if kept in proper cellar conditions.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Dark chocolate desserts, artisanal blue cheeses, or simple almond biscotti.
✨ wine.spec_sheet
The legendary 'Tarragone' bottlings of Chartreuse represent a fascinating chapter in monastic history. Following their expulsion from France in 1903, the Carthusian Monks established a distillery in Tarragona, Spain, where they continued to handcraft their enigmatic liqueurs until 1989. This specific Yellow Chartreuse, produced between 1973 and 1985, is highly coveted by collectors worldwide. Known for its softer, sweeter profile compared to the Green expression, the Yellow Chartreuse achieves its signature hue naturally, largely from saffron. It is crafted from a secret recipe of 130 botanicals macerated in grape spirit and aged in oak casks. Over decades of bottle aging, these historic Tarragona bottlings develop an extraordinary complexity, transforming the intense herbal and honeyed notes into a seamless, silky, and deeply nuanced elixir that bridges monastic devotion with liquid history.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Dating back to 1605 when the Carthusian Monks of the Grande Chartreuse monastery received a manuscript containing the recipe for an 'Elixir of Long Life,' Chartreuse is one of the world's most storied and enigmatic spirits. Handcrafted by the Monks of the Order of the Chartreux, production historically centered in Voiron, France, with a significant period of exile in Tarragona, Spain, before moving to the modern Aiguenoire distillery in Entre-Deux-Guiers. The production process remains a closely guarded secret known to only two monks, involving the maceration of 130 botanicals in grape-based alcohol followed by extensive aging in oak casks. Renowned for its complex herb-forward profile, the house is celebrated for its iconic Green (Verte) and Yellow (Jaune) expressions, alongside highly coveted V.E.P. (Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé) and historic Tarragona bottlings. This legendary producer continues to bridge centuries of monastic tradition with unmatched artisanal excellence in the world of fine spirits and liqueurs.