Version Française : Silvae

Characteristics and tasting notes of the Silvae by Version Française

Tasting

Appearance
A seductive golden amber hue, reflecting the youth of its distillate and the rich influence of its multiple oak casks.

Nose
Complex and refined, the bouquet opens on indulgent notes of salted butter caramel, vanilla cream and coconut milk. It then evolves towards exotic, spicy aromas of dried flowers, incense, cinnamon and ginger, enhanced by fruity touches of orange candy and candied apricot.

Palate
The attack is round and silky. The palate reveals a beautiful harmony around bourbon vanilla, cardamom and sandalwood. Notes of candied citrus, such as kumquat and mandarin, intertwine with grated ginger. The remarkably long finish unfolds woody, resinous flavours, enriched with nutmeg, clove, mocha, dark chocolate and light tobacco.

Pairings and tasting occasions

This single malt shines through its versatility. It pairs beautifully with sweet and savoury dishes such as honey-glazed salmon or duck breast with a citrus reduction. As for cheeses, an aged Comté or a Beaufort will echo its caramelised notes. It also enhances Asian flavours, such as miso-marinated black cod, and contrasts elegantly with the saltiness of a fine charcuterie like Bayonne ham. For dessert, do not hesitate to pair it with a crème brûlée or a tarte Tatin.

Mixology

Thanks to its balanced profile and 46% ABV, this whisky offers a wonderful playground. It brilliantly revisits the classics: try it as a Silvae Old Fashioned, where its natural sweetness reduces the need for sugar, or as a Silvae Manhattan. For a bolder touch, its sandalwood notes express themselves perfectly in a Japanese-inspired creation with yuzu juice and a dash of matcha syrup, or lengthened into a Highball with tonic or ginger ale.

Other characteristics

This French single malt is unpeated, allowing the complexity of its wood ageing to fully express itself. It is bottled at 46.0% vol. in a 70 cl format, without a case.

An innovative whisky crafted by Version Française

Version Française: the expression of terroir by La Maison & Velier

Owned by La Maison & Velier, the renowned spirits merchant based in Clichy, Version Française establishes itself as an innovative player in the global whisky landscape. The brand stands out through a sharp approach to ageing, rejecting mere imitation in favour of a true reinterpretation of the French terroir. By partnering with the Warenghem distillery, located in the Côtes-d'Armor in Brittany and led by David Roussier, Version Française benefits from a high-quality distillate, shaped by an ideal maritime climate. The brand's identity rests on complete transparency and exceptional technical mastery of the science of wood, perfectly illustrating the meeting between Breton distilling expertise and the blending and finishing know-how of its owner.

Silvae: an unprecedented mastery of oak blending

This Silvae is a single malt whisky of great technical skill, the result of a singular production method. Its name, taken from the Latin for "forests", immediately announces its wood-centred philosophy. The raw material, an unpeated distillate from the Warenghem distillery, first undergoes an initial ageing of 44 months in ex-bourbon casks.

Silvae's major innovation lies in its second maturation phase. For three and a half years, this French whisky benefits from a simultaneous finishing in an exclusive blend of four new oak casks of different species, meticulously calibrated. Pride of place is given to fine-grained Breton oak (38%), shaped by the last cooper in Brittany, deeply anchoring the spirit in its terroir. Added to this are 30% Japanese mizunara oak, renowned for being complex to work with, 22% intensely charred American white oak, and 10% coarse-grained French oak to give the whole its structure.

This simultaneous approach, rather than a sequential one, allows for an exceptional integration of the aromatic compounds of each species. Bottled at 46%, this whisky overturns the conventions of maturation to offer an unprecedented sensory experience.