Meadery · Est. 2011 · Seasonal Release

The oldest luxury,
perfected.

Mead predates wine. We reclaim that primacy.

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The Apiary

Single-source honey.
Named apiaries. Known ground.

01
Wildflower Polyfloral
Clos des Abeilles
Provence, France
Lavender-dominant, with stone fruit and dry herb notes. Harvested late June before summer heat concentrates sugars beyond ideal Brix.
02
Acacia Monofloral
Biała Akacja
Małopolska, Poland
The lightest honey we source. Pale gold, almost water-clear. Vanillin and almond blossom with almost zero crystallisation — ideal for metheglin.
03
Chestnut Monofloral
Il Castagno
Tuscan Hills, Italy
Dark amber, almost bitter. Tannin and tobacco on the nose. Requires 18 months minimum aging to integrate. The architecture of our Reserve expression.
04
Buckwheat Monofloral
Havre des Sarrasins
Brittany, France
Molasses-deep, almost savoury. Used exclusively in our Bochet expression — caramelised under direct heat for three hours before fermentation.
05
Heather Ling
Loch Rannoch
Perthshire, Scotland
Thixotropic — gelatinous texture that must be pressed, not spun. Floral-medicinal with deep resinous character. Exceptional for botanical meads.
Current Releases

Winter 2023 — Spring 2024

Traditional · 2022
Timeless
Clos des Abeilles, Provence
Pure wildflower honey — no additions
12.5% ABV · 18 months aged
Botanical · 2023
Verdant
Biała Akacja, Poland
Acacia honey · Elderflower · Lemon verbena
11% ABV · 12 months aged
Reserve · 2021
Austere
Il Castagno, Tuscany
Chestnut honey · 24 months oak
14% ABV · 24 months aged
Bochet · 2022
Incendiary
Havre des Sarrasins, Brittany
Caramelised buckwheat honey · Vanilla
13.5% ABV · 16 months aged
The Process

Six stages. No shortcuts.

I
Apiary Selection
Each year, we visit every partner apiary before purchase. Honey is assessed at source — colour, aroma, Brix, and crystallisation potential. We buy only what we would drink unfermented.
II
Must Preparation
Honey is diluted with spring water from a single Pyrenean source — mineral balance matched to the honey varietal. No additives. No acid correction. Water temperature held below 28°C to preserve aromatic compounds.
III
Fermentation
Indigenous yeast for traditional and reserve expressions. Controlled inoculation for botanical meads where we need specific ester profiles. Fermentation at 16°C — unhurried, 6–10 weeks average.
IV
Botanical Addition
For metheglin and botanical expressions only: whole botanicals are added cold in muslin sachets after primary fermentation. Never boiled. Contact time determined by weekly tasting, not calendar.
V
Aging
Stone cellar, constant 12°C. Traditional expression: neutral French oak. Reserve: toasted Hungarian oak. Bochet: new oak for 6 months, then transferred to neutral. Minimum 12 months for any Aurelum release.
VI
Bottling
Hand-filled by gravity. No fining agents. Light filtration through cellulose only. Wax-sealed by hand. Each bottle carries the apiary lot number, fermentation date, and cellar number of the aging vessel.
The Cellar

Stone walls.
Twelve degrees.
Absolute patience.

Our cellar was built in 1887 for wine. It has never been modernised. The temperature has not varied by more than two degrees in a decade.

There is no accelerated aging here. No temperature cycling, no micro-oxygenation, no tricks. Only time, wood, and whatever conversation happens between them.

12°C
Year-Round
180
Oak Vessels
1887
Cellar Built
Aurelum tasting room
Tasting Room

An hour that changes what you believe about honey.

Each session is guided by a member of our meadmaking team — not a hospitality professional, but the person who made the mead you are about to drink.

Reserve Your Tasting
Meadmaker's Note

Winter 2024

"The chestnut harvest from Il Castagno was late this year — three weeks behind the calendar. We waited. The extra time in the tree produced the darkest honey we have received in seven years. The Reserve 2024 will be unlike anything we have released. It needs two years. We will not open it before then. We ask the same patience of you."
— Marco Benedetti
Head Meadmaker, Aurelum
Winter 2024 · Quarterly Dispatch
Allocations

The list for
allocated releases.

No social proof. No countdown timers. When a vintage is ready, registered members are contacted in order — first come, first served, limited to one case per household.