French Alain Milliat Wild Blueberry Nectar 330ml

Alain Milliat Wild Blueberry Nectar comes from altitude shrubs in France, a fruit that has grown markedly rarer over the past decade and ever harder to source. The house prefers wild blueberry to its cultivated cousin for greater intensity and a more complex aromatic signature.

In the glass the nectar is a deep, almost black violet. Lightly tart, it opens into the fruity and woody notes of the undergrowth — a French woodland floor rather than a confection. Forty-two per cent wild blueberry pulp gives it body; water, sugar, a touch of citric acid and ascorbic acid complete the recipe. It is guaranteed non-GMO and free of allergens. The fruit is carefully selected, and the nectar is made in the Drôme.

Alain Milliat often uses it to deglaze a pan, lending dark fruit depth to a sauce. It is equally at home as an aperitif or the base of a cocktail — the house suggests a Blueberry Bramble. Shake before opening, keep the bottle at room temperature, and refrigerate for no more than three days once opened.

Rare fruit, measured sweetness, and French restraint: a nectar for a slow afternoon, or a quiet note of indigo on the table.