Le Pere Jules' cidres and poirés are entirely estate grown and made from their 100ha of apples and 25ha of pears. The Defrieches family, in their 4th generation of professional cidre production, uses traditional organic orcharding methods. They maintain a herd of cattle of about 100 cattle which graze freely among the trees eating the grass and weeds as well as the apples that prematurely fall. Besides maintaining the verge, the cattle also provide fertilizer for the trees.
The traditional approach doesn't just stay in the orchard, it extends to the production floor as well. The apples are sweated for two weeks in a dry, ventilated room before being gently pressed in a pneumatic press. Pressing takes about 2.5 hours per 2,000 kg batch. The juice is then moved to stainless steel where it starts fermentation naturally with the yeast from the skin of the apples. Fermentation takes 2-4 months then it's transferred to bottles where the still cider continues to ferment in the bottle but since the CO2 can't escape, it carbonates the cider to its typical level of French cidre sparkle.
Appearance: Gold with rose hue.
Aroma: Bitter apples, caramel, light orchard must, buttery, fruit leather.
Taste: Medium+ tannins, medium acidity, medium+ astringency.
Overall Impression: Le Pere Jules' Brut Cidre's flavor profile is right down the middle. It has a mix of the classic Norman cidre flavors in a perfect balance between fruitiness, tannins, light funk, and malolactic notes (buttery). It's a great cidre to use a prime example of a cider from Normandy. Le Pere Jules is one of my favorite producers. I love all of their non-distilled offerings, which include a Poiré and Pommeau. This Cidre is definitely I'll be coming back to again. Le Pere Jules is a safe bet that you'll be happy when the bottle is empty and looking for more.
CO2 Levels: Medium- sparkle.
Geography: Normandie
Apples: Mettais, Rambaud, Domaine, Frequin, Bisquet, Argiles
Availability: In states where products imported by French Libation are sold.
5% ABV
