The distillery
A Nostra Storia
At the end of the 20th century, the distillery was established in the heart of the eastern plain to promote Corsican fruits, particularly plums, which, in the late 1980s, replaced a large part of the island’s vineyards affected by wine overproduction.
At the dawn of the 2000s, Domaine Mavela’s plum brandy and grape brandy each won gold medals at the Paris Agricultural Show. Subsequently, the main fruits of the Isle of Beauty were transformed into brandy and liqueur: myrtle, citron and chestnut, quickly complemented by traditional pear and raspberry brandies.
Mavela has been recognised at every national and international competition it has entered. In this way, this ancestral know-how is preserved, but also continually enriched by new creations.
A natural location
Now located in the commune of Aléria, the distillery is surrounded by vineyards and orchards. It is bordered on the sea and mountain sides by the Casabianda estate, a 600-hectare green lung classified as an agricultural zone and protected from all industrial activity.
The wild berries of the maquis and the fruit are picked by hand, as are all the stages preceding distillation: peeling, maceration and filtering. The distillation period lasts all year round and follows the rhythm of the seasons: May to June for raspberries, July to August for pears and grapes, September for plums, October for chestnuts, November for citron and December/January for myrtle.
These spirits are made exclusively from fresh fruit grown on the estate or sourced from local fruit growers, with no added colourings or flavourings, and with the utmost respect for the environment.
The Whiskies
It was their shared love of this grain-based beverage and the complementary nature of their production tools that led Domaine Mavela and Brasserie Pietra to combine their skills and expertise in 1999 to produce the first Corsican whisky.
The aim was not to reproduce the standards in force in Scotland, Ireland or the United States, but to create a new style of whisky that would draw on all the aromatic essences of the island. Only 200-year-old oak casks that have contained the finest Corsican wines are selected for maturation. After ageing, the whiskies are blended exclusively with water from Col Saint Georges, which springs from a source over 1,000 metres above sea level in the Corsican mountains.
Over the years, P&M whisky has gained national and international recognition. The various P&M vintages are produced in limited editions, which helps to guarantee their quality.
