One Of The Best New Whisky Distilleries Ever Is About To Close Down

Forbes

13 hours ago

Maison Lineti's distinctive fermentation eggs. Thomas Liaunet
Last month, French whisky distillery Maison Lineti played host to the sixth edition of the World Whisky Forum, a celebrated industry gathering that welcomed around 70 attendees representing some of the top names in whisky to Bordeaux in southwest France. The event, lauded for its openness and intellectual depth, was a resounding success:
'You get the right people in the room, and you know that barrier that sometimes exists between a speaker giving a presentation and the audience just kind of breaks down, and everybody is chatting, everybody's discussing stuff, and some really positive things come out of it,' said whisky writer and author Dave Broom, who is one of the festival organizers.
But behind the scenes of the event's convivial spirit, Maison Lineti (an anagram of 'Saint-Émilion' where it is based) was facing an existential crisis. Unbeknownst to the attendees, the distillery is heading toward liquidation after its principal shareholder suddenly withdrew financial support earlier this year. Now, unless a new owner can be found soon, it is likely to shut down entirely.
While deeply unfortunate, Maison Lineti is not the first distillery or whisky business to face these kinds of ugly pressures as the wider whisky market begins to face a tough downturn, nor will it be the last.
However, I was drawn to the distillery's story because two industry figures I deeply respect and admire, Broom and Dawn Davies, took to social media to express in no uncertain terms that the very possible closure of Maison Lineti would be a deep and unacceptable tragedy to the wider world of whisky.
Davies is the head buyer for The Whisky Exchange, the world's first and largest online whisky retailer, and she is a walking alcohol encyclopedia. Broom is one of the world's leading authorities on whisky, and is deeply knowledgeable about all kinds of projects around the globe. So I wanted to know, what made them want to speak up for a small French producer?
To both of them, Maison Lineti's approach to whiskymaking represents a potential paradigm shift for how the wider industry considers whisky production. Its closure before it ever releases an actual whisky to them is unacceptable given what they have tasted so far.
"I thought, f***, I have to go to bat for this distillery, because I'm just not going to let this quality of liquid not arrive to the market', Davies told me.
'Because the market needs it. The industry needs this." How Maison Lineti Makes Whisky
Maison Lineti's alembic stills. Gunther Vicente
Maison Lineti is not a conventional whisky distillery. Located in the heart of Bordeaux wine country, it applies oenological techniques more commonly associated with winemaking than distilling. This hybrid approach is what has attracted an increasing amount of admiration within the whisky world, as attendees to the World Whisky Forum can attest.
'We try a lot of things used in the wine industry, like cold soaking, lees aging, and malolactic fermentation,' says Maison Lineti co-founder Alex Cosculluela. 'We do only long fermentations. We're applying different things to the whisky that are typically used in the wine industry'.
Their production is rooted in detailed research and scientific precision led by Cosculluela's partner in whisky and in life Dr. Magali Picard. The distillery uses fermentation eggs—typically seen in avant-garde wineries—and extended aging on lees to develop complexity and texture. The use of malolactic fermentation introduces lactic acid bacteria to convert harsher malic acid into softer lactic acid, enhancing roundness and balance. Distillation is done through alembic stills, which are more typical of Cognac.
The philosophy extends beyond practice to communication. Until a couple of days ago, Maison Lineti made its technical findings publicly available on its website, part of a broader mission to democratize knowledge. 'She [Picard] wants to collaborate, and she wants to democratise whiskymaking knowledge,' said Broom. 'She wants to share this information because what they are doing is mind-blowing'.
Maison Lineti's approach is centered on what Cosculluela calls their "organoleptic DNA,' which defines the sensory identity of their whisky: 'We decided to base this DNA on four pillars. The first one is floral notes. The second one, mineral notes. The third one is tautness, tension. It's the perception of strength in the mouth due to the acidity. It's a notion from the wine industry, but really important. Our last pillar is roundness.'
Broom, Davies, and others have been blown away by the results. 'These spirits are not even three years old [the legal age at which you can call whisky 'whisky' in the E.U.], and I would happily drink it at two years because they are so balanced,' said Davies 'The oak is so well integrated, and the spirit is texturally amazing'
Coming from a wine background, Davies found the use of winemaking methods revelatory. 'Everything that I expected in my head based on what I knew about how they approached that combination of wine and whisky all came perfectly together when I tried it. It made sense in terms of texture, in terms of balance, in terms of just these beautiful flavours coming through the acidity.'
Broom echoed her sentiments. 'I don't know of anybody who has gone into this level of detail about how to chart flavour, how to work out techniques and ways in which whisky can be enhanced' he said. This is high praise indeed. Will Maison Lineti Ever Release A Whisky?
Distillery co-founders Alex Cosculluela and Dr. Magali Picard Gunther Vicente
Despite revolutionary methods and the high quality of the spirit it has produced so far, Maison Lineti is now on the verge of financial collapse. Its main shareholder—a wine merchant and producer—informed Cosculluela and Picard it was pulling out of the project earlier in the year, citing instability in the wine market.
'Our main shareholders are from the wine industry... they preferred to stop their diversification strategy, and to be focused on their main business' said Cosculluela.
France's wine sector is currently experiencing a deep crisis, with many businesses forced to consolidate or retrench. 'Right now there is a huge, huge wine crisis. We never had something like that before,' he continued. 'The wine and spirit industry in France is really struggling right now. They are in a storm, a huge storm'.
With the shareholder exit, Maison Lineti lost its principal source of funding. Efforts to find a replacement investor have so far fallen short. 'We tried to find a few investor before the bankruptcy situation, but we didn't receive any sufficient offers,' said Cosculluela. 'We have three months to sell all the assets of the company and to find someone who is interested in relaunching the distillery'.
Maison Lineti's uncertain future is a reflection of broader pressures facing the global spirits industry, where financial constraints and falling demand have squeezed new smaller producers particularly hard. If the distillery does in the end go completely under, it means us whisky fans won't get to taste the results of some of the best research ever done on the science of whisky's aromas and flavors.
"They told me that they didn't think they were going to bring this project to fruition and it broke my heart, because I think that these are two absolutely amazing people who have really done something revolutionary in our industry', says Davies.
"I just think they deserve a voice, and they deserve a chance."