Andre Heucq Ratafia Champenois NV (500ml)

Long a cellar-door tradition in Champagne, ratafia is a vin de liqueur made by halting fresh grape must with grape spirit before fermentation can take hold, which preserves the sweetness of the juice while lifting it with alcohol. This non-vintage bottling from Andre Heucq comes from the same Champenois fruit that would otherwise go toward sparkling wine, and it sits in the apéritif-and-dessert category rather than the dinner table, served chilled and poured in small measures. Expect a richer, sweeter, more spirit-forward profile than the region's wines, with the orchard-fruit and honeyed character that the style is known for.