Four Normandy Ciders

Cidrerie d'Anneville Cidre Traditionnel (76590 Anneville sur Scie), 4.5%
Medium copper colour, a little cloudy.
An aroma of very sweet fleshy apple, damp old wood, a little molasses, a touch of mushroom and cinnamon spice - very traditional cider nose.
The spritz is mainly up-front/mid-palate (which is great), and it dies away to gently gripping tannins, pretty intense flavours as per the nose, and a good clean crisp mid-palate and finish.
With air and loss of CO2, the flavours showed more sweet browned (oxidised) apple and a little tarnish, which I found very attractive.
Interesting cider with significant wood influence, and very traditionally styled.

Victor Gontier Cidre Bouché Fermier (50720 St-Georges-de-Rouelley), 4.5%
More yellow, far less copper/gold, browner too; a little cloudy.
Fresher, lighter nose with gentler aromatics of mould (certainly a slightly funky edge) and the faintest hint of nuts; I suspect this sees less wood than the Cidrerie d'Anneville.
Slightly sharp acidity, comparatively light in the mouth, with gentle spritz all the way through, quite lactic on the palate, and an almost off-milk note to the finish.
It doesn't work - the lacticity with that much acidity, because it's too sharp and harsh.
A lighter, simpler style that may be preferable for those who don't like to see too much wood in their cider. But I think the Cidrerie d'Anneville has more complexity and better balance than this.

Manoir du Kinkiz (Hervé Seznec) Cornouaille AC 2008 (29000 Quimper), 5.5%
A bit more coppery, this one, with a slight green tinge.
A nose of brightest of bright fresh rosy red apples, slathered in cream, general lacticity, and a touch of spice. This is fantastic cider. It's got a slightly resinous damp wood note, and a slightly nutty finish. Old-styled yet refined, sleek and elegant rather than rustic. Refreshing, with gentle effervescence.

Le Père Jules Cidre Bouché 2008 (14100 Saint-Desir-Lisieux), 5%
Mirky copper.
Some sulphides and plastic over gentle sweet grassy green apple.
The palate is a little grassy too, with lots of green apple peel. It's fairly smooth, well balanced and refreshing. Quite delicious.

Ben, thanks very much for these intriguing notes.

Last year I discovered the wonderful world of hard cider. In fact, I did so by making it at home for the first time ever, instead of wine. You can make some really good, fresh-tasting hard cider with very little equipment. All I used was a juicer, glass gallon jugs, and clear plastic pop bottles that can hold pressure, to later carbonate my ciders.

I have only had one cider from France, and had to buy that in Michigan, because the LCBO doesn't care about French or English ciders enough to bother to import them. The French cider was very funky indeed, and would have been right at home next to some stinky cheeses.

There are many apples that will create a wonderful cider here in North America, and the beauty is in blending: Because so many apples have different characteristics, the cider maker's skill really shines through in "designing" the blend. You can pre-determine the nature of your cider by deciding upon proportions of tart, sweet, and tannic apple varieties.

Crabapples are the cider maker's friends: They truly add some wonderful tannic bite where it is most welcome. I would even say that a still cider made only from crabapples might prove to be quite ageworthy and very interesting to drink after a few years in bottle.

America's traditional homestead beverage sorely deserves a rebirth in our day and age.

Paul, thanks for your response - I missed it ealier due to being away.

I'd say French ciders are more likely to be funkier/oxidative/complex than their New World (or even English) counterparts, which is what makes them great IMO. Shame than LCBO doesn't import them.

I agree re blending in cidermaking. I have no doubt North America is well resourced in varieties and I'd love to try some N. American ciders too. On cidermaking, I've always been intrigued by keeving - I wonder if that is common in N. America at all?

Hi Ben,
Thanks for the cider TN! One question regarding, “keeving fermentations”, could it be used to produce “dry” ciders?

Salute

Ben,

I've read about keeving, but confess to never having tried it myself. I'm still quite new to the craft, though I'm loving it with a passion.

Cider is truly America's original drink, and I can say that we are seeing a slow but definite resurgence in interest in this fine, noble beverage. It has been said that Johnny Appleseed didn't go around planting eating apples in his time - they were definitely cider apples!

What I find, driving around the countryside in the autumn, is many a wild apple tree whose fruits must have some kind of original cider-apple ancestry. Why I say this is that they generally don't make for great eating, being fibrous and irregular in appearance - but when juiced (yes, I have collected many kinds of roadside apples and have juiced them), they yield pale, clear juice that doesn't brown easily; they often have good sugar content (all of these are typical "winter apples" BTW), and can be either tangy/sweet, tangy/tannic, or flat/tannic. All of these are qualities that benefit hard cider.

It is quite likely that some of those old homestead orchards have, generations of apple trees later, passed their genes on to many a roadside apple tree.

Victor, I believe keeved ferments can successfully proceed to dryness, it's just that it's harder/rarer due to the reduced nutrient content.

Paul, you're lucky having all those heritage orchards around. If you get tasting some N. American (hard) ciders, I'd certainly be interested in any notes.

Paul, you're lucky having all those heritage orchards around. If you get tasting some N. American (hard) ciders, I'd certainly be interested in any notes.

Ben,

The problem is that although there is certainly much "cider apple material" out there, mixed up with this and that in the wild, hard cider is only now beginning to experience a renaissance in the marketplace. Just up until a few years ago, I remember lamenting the total unavailability of quality artisanal ciders in Ontario. Since then, about three or four have made it onto the market, and I feel that there will be more still. It's a trend that really deserves to continue IMO.

Just wondering, for anyone tuning in - what convention should be used for cider tasting notes in future? Would "CTN" make sense / be searchable, should we use "WTN" and then qualify the subject line, or should no acronym by used at all?