Pommeau is a step between Cidre and Calvados (apple brandy). If you were to give it an equivalent in the wine world, it would be apple adjacent to Port or other fortified wines. To make Pommeau, the cidre makes takes fresh juice (unfermented) and blends it with Calvados. It’s then aged in oak barrels.
Domaine Dupont‘s Pommeau de Normandie starts as fresh pressed cidre juice made from bittersweet apples, mostly from Binet Rouge. It’s then blended with Calvados eau-de-vie (white Calvados that hasn’t seen any barrel time). Before it goes into barrels, it’s 18% ABV. After extended barrel aging, the finished Dupont Pommeau is 17% ABV. To be legally called Pommeau, it must age at least 1 year in barrels. Domaine Dupont Pommeau de Normandie gets 4 to 5 years of barrel aging.
Appearance: Bright amber.
Aroma: Juice, caramel, spicy, baked apples, pears, dried apricots, nutty.
Taste: Medium- tannin, medium acidity, medium- astringency.
Overall Impression: Pommeau’s are on the sweeter side since juice blended with the Calvados hasn’t been fermented meaning the natural apple sugar is left in the final blend. However like all good drinks, balance is important. The tannins and acidity of the bittersweet apples in combination with alcohol of the eau-de-vie really work to balance the pommeau to make it a very enjoyable treat. Serve it chilled at about cellar temperatures, about 55°F or 12°C.
CO2 Levels: Still.
Geography: AOC Pommeau de Normandie
Apples: Bittersweets, including Binet Rouge
Availability: Nationally. Imported by B. United International.
17% ABV
You can read more of my writings about Domaine Dupont here.
