Review: Le Gin 13

Le Gin 13, as the “Le” might suggest, hails from France — specifically the cellars of Châteauneuf-du-Pape-based maker of the wines Les Cailloux and Cuvée Centenaire, André Brunel.

The gin is made from a base of organic grapes and includes 13 botanicals all grown in the Rhone Valley: juniper, coriander, angelica root, cinnamon, orange peel, rosemary, cardamon, pepper, Sichuan pepper, lavender, thyme, fennel, and vanilla. Le Gin 13 is also a vintaged gin, with this inaugural batch featuring grapes from the 2022 harvest. A 2023 version is on the way.

The bright, herbal nose immediately transports one to the south of France, where a rush of green herbs evokes aromas of rosemary, lavender, and black pepper. Extremely fragrant, I was hard-pressed to recall another gin with this much of an herbal punch, at least one so fresh and summery. Time in glass encourages the coriander and cardamom notes to build in prominence, giving the herbal notes a more toasted, woodsy bent while keeping the overall perfumed approach intact.

The palate partly stays the course, kicking off with bright green herbs before settling into a sharper groove, evoking notes of sage and thyme alongside the clear rosemary character and a big punch of juniper. Smoldering and increasingly smoky as it develops, the gin is extremely lasting and persistent on the tongue, its pine-meets-perfume attack never really letting up. The finish is just as sharp as the initial attack, though here the greenery is ringed with orange peel and a note of anise.

This is one of those gins where nearly every botanical can be detected in the finished product, and while that makes for a complex drinking experience, it’s one that comes across at times as too busy and domineering, especially in a cocktail. That said, it’s an experience for which tasting notes simply might not do justice. For big gin fanatics, Le Gin 13 might be an experience you’ll have to judge for yourself.

Arrives fall 2024.

90 proof.

B+ / $NA

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