Maturation & Storage

Apricot brandy doesn't need to age to be apricot brandy. EU regulation sets no minimum aging period for fruit brandy, and Wachau apricot brandy typically remains perfectly clear. After distilling, it rests for a while so the aromas can settle and the brandy becomes rounder.

Neutral containers that impart nothing are used for this: glass demijohns, stainless steel tanks, and in the past, stoneware. In these, the fruit aroma stays just as it came from the still, and the color remains unchanged. Coloring is banned for fruit brandy anyway, and with no more than 4 g of sugar per liter, Wachau apricot brandy is barely sweetened at all.

If a label says “old” or “Reserve,” that's a claim made by the producer, not a legal term. Under the regulation, an age statement may only refer to the youngest component in the brandy, and the aging must have taken place under tax supervision. Time alone, then, doesn't automatically make a brandy better.

The picture is different for Wachau brandy, protected since 1995. Under EU regulation, a brandy needs at least 36% ABV and oak aging: one year in vessels of 1,000 liters or more, or six months in smaller casks. The wood turns the spirit amber and adds spice.

Domäne Wachau shows just how far this can be taken. According to the producer, their extra-aged Grüner Veltliner brandy first matures in small oak casks and then spends several years in new French oak barrels. This has little to do with the clear apricot brandy—it's a different craft under the same regional name.