Chartreuse Tarragone Santa Tecla Jaune 2001

Characteristics and Tasting Notes for the Chartreuse Tarragone Santa Tecla Jaune 2001

Tasting

Colour
An intense golden yellow, its natural colouring comes from the addition of saffron during the final stages of maceration.

Nose
Fresh and spicy, it unfolds in successive waves. It offers pronounced aromas of turmeric and citrus fruits, complemented by delicate notes of aniseed and a floral undertone that lingers throughout the aromatic experience.

Palate
The attack reveals a smooth structure, balancing honeyed sweetness with great herbaceous complexity and spicy notes of cardamom. The finish is long and warming, leaving lingering floral notes. Thanks to around twenty-five years of bottle ageing, this 2001 vintage offers a mellowed alcoholic warmth, a refined honeyed sweetness and a particularly harmonious and sophisticated ageing profile.

Food Pairing and Tasting Moments
This liqueur is best enjoyed as a digestif, at the end of a hearty meal, served neat in small measures. For the best experience, it is recommended to serve it chilled between 12 and 13°C, or over ice in shot glasses. This temperature helps preserve the delicate aromatic expression and subtle floral notes without letting the warmth of the alcohol take over.

Mixology
Although this collector's vintage is a delight on its own, yellow Chartreuse has historically found its way into complex cocktails. It is the star ingredient of the "Mamadeta", an iconic drink from the Tarragona festivities, blending yellow and green Chartreuse with lemon granita. It also features in classics such as the Episcopal, the Bijou, the Greenpoint, the Naked and Famous and the Angel's Draft, adding sweetness and botanical subtlety.

Other Characteristics
Made from grape spirit, this liqueur draws its complexity from a secret recipe of 130 plants, flowers, barks, roots and spices. It benefits from extended ageing in French oak vats from the Tronçais forest before continuing to evolve in the bottle.

An Exceptional Liqueur from the Grande Chartreuse, with Harmonious Ageing

The Carthusian Order: A Centuries-Old Monastic Heritage
Founded in 1084 by Saint Bruno in the Chartreuse mountain range, the Carthusian Order produces one of the most enigmatic liqueurs in the world. The story of Chartreuse began in 1605 with the handing over of a mysterious manuscript detailing an elixir of long life. Today, ownership and absolute control of production still belong to the monastic order, although the company Chartreuse Diffusion manages its commercial distribution. Only two monks hold the secret of the recipe. Although production has now been repatriated to France, in Aiguenoire, the brand's history is deeply marked by its exile, a period during which it became a celebrated liqueur from Spain, produced in Tarragona. Since 2021, the monks have voluntarily limited production volumes in order to focus on their spiritual mission.

Chartreuse Tarragone Santa Tecla Jaune 2001: A Historic Limited Edition
The Chartreuse Tarragone Santa Tecla Jaune 2001 is a limited edition commemorating the deep-rooted bond between the Carthusian monks and the city of Tarragona, where the liqueur was distilled from 1903 to 1989. Originally created in 1840 to offer a milder alternative to the green version, this herbal liqueur is based on the same secret blend of 130 plants. The botanicals undergo a two- to three-week maceration in grape spirit, followed by distillation and careful ageing in oak casks.

Launched in the year 2000, the Santa Tecla edition programme celebrates the annual festivities of the patron saint of Tarragona. The 2001 vintage holds particular significance as a pioneering edition, bridging the gap between the closure of the Spanish distillery and the cultural heritage left behind in the region. Each bottle in this exclusive series features a back label illustrating the official festival poster of the corresponding year, making this bottle a true collector's artefact that captures both the excellence of monastic craftsmanship and the spirit of Catalan civic celebration.