For any liquid, time spent in contact with wood creates additional layers of flavor. This 10 year Grand Reserve Banyuls vinegar is no exception. It’s made by winemaker La Cava de L'Abbé Rous, located in the beautiful coastal town of Banyuls-sur-Mer, just north of the Spanish/French border. Using the winery’s wine as a base, the Banyuls vinegar process begins with testing and tasting over one thousand sixty-gallon barrels of young vinegar, then selecting the finest. These special barrels are set aside and aged to 10 years, creating this sublime elixir. With scents of warm spices and nuance of honey, this vinegar tastes of apricot and vanilla with woody overtones. Best used to deglaze a lamb or pork roast but also great in a warm scallop or crab salad. A perfect pairing with blanched asparagus topped with a farm-fresh coddled egg.

Why gift a gone-in-one-night bottle of wine when you can honor someone with a Banyuls Vinegar 10 year? The exquisite packaging embodies all things good and great in cuisine. The gold embossed sleeve screams of the quality therein and the bottle fulfills its promise.