Poli Distillerie

Crysopea of Cleopatra

Crysopea of Cleopatra

Cleopatra Oro is a series of Grappas obtained from very fresh marc, featuring a refinement and bouquet rarely found in a distillate.
A stay in oak barrels completes the structure and enriches the aromatic profile.

Why Cleopatra?

It is said, that the first still of the history was created by the Egyptian alchemist Cleopatra, who meant to use it to distill the most precious among metals, gold, and called it Crysopea (from Greek chrysos, gold and poirò, to make).
After years of research at the Poli Distillery a new Crysopea was born again, the most innovative bain marie vacuum still in function, through which the precious Poli Moscato Oro has been distilled and kept in this bottle.

The project of a bain marie vacuum still equipped with a column at adjustable reflow without plates starts in 2003, carried out by the Experimental Center of the Institute of San Michele all'Adige. Its following realization from 2005-2010  by the Poli Distillery represents an important contribution for the endless evolution of the technology and manufacturing processing of Grappa through a discountinuous artisan method.

The new Crysopea with the license plate Poli closes in this way a symbolic circle, represented by the dragon Uroboros biting its own tail.

To the alchemist Cleopatra we devote this distillate.

Crysopea by Poli

The Poli Crysopea is a particular bain-marie vacuum still equipped with a column without distillation plates.

The main identified differences between distillates obtained with Crysopea and other traditional bain-marie systems operating in Italy are the following:

- increase of terpene floral note

- big reduction in head impurities

- considerable lowering in esters

- important drop in methyl alcohol.

The process of application of vacuum in the distillation had already been tried towards the end of the 19th century by the Italian Enrico Comboni, but many decades were to pass  before it was used in production, given the considerable technical difficulties linked to the possibility of implosion of the still and the condensation of vapours.

The main advantage consists of an important fall of the boiling point of alcohol and the various volatile compounds present in the grape pomace, determined by the negative pressure inside the still, or rather the vacuum.

This enables a distillate to be obtained and marked by delicate fruity and floral fragrances which, in being thermolabile, are normally lost due to the temperature present inside a boiler.

Characteristics Cleopatra Amarone Oro

The wide taste and the great structure of the wine Amarone della Valpolicella, build the aromatic fundaments of Cleopatra Amarone Oro, a Grappa obtained from the marc of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes, used for the production of this famous wine from Verona.

Cleopatra Amarone Oro features the scents of dry fruits, sweet spices and toasted wood, and reveals a full and sincere flavour. The marcs of the red grapes, from which this spirit originates, confer them a greater structure compared to other distillates of this line. It is the use of Crysopea, our bain marie vacuum still, that assures the maintenance of all delicate floral notes.