Maker: Etienne Dupont, Victot-Pontfol, Normandy, France
Vintage: 2012
ABV: 5.5%
Purchased for $12/750 ml
Appearance: light ochre with a big fizzy head that disperses soon after pouring.
Nose: Dry and flinty with a hint of yeasty funk.
Palate: Fizzy, apple juice, sourdough, chalk dust.
Finish: Fairly clean with a little funk and a touch of sweetness.
Parting words: There are very few denizens of the Wonderful Land of Booze that I just don’t enjoy. Sherry, flavored vodka, American blended whiskey, Coors/Bud/Miller beer and French cider all fall into that category.
This cider is drinkable enough, but the combination of funky yeast and dry chalk don’t exactly keep me coming back. Maybe I should have started my cider journey in Normandy and then sailed to the UK and US, or it’s over or underaged but this is not a repeat buy, especially at this price. Not recommended.
Sipology 
I also didn’t care for this cider…quite beer-like. I have some cider buddies who love this style of cider though, and I have loved some ciders they have hated, so it may come down to preference. Sometimes though I wonder how a cider was impacted by a long overseas journey and how long it sat at the store in non-optimum conditions (my bottle of this cider was a 2011 vintage and I bought it only 2 months ago). So far I’ve found there seems to be two distinct categories of French ciders…the funkier yeasty drier ones like this and the richer sweeter fizzier ones I prefer (such as Dan Armor which is only $5 at Trader Joe’s, and Le Brun). I think it may be a Brittany vs. Normandy thing? So far all the French ciders I’ve enjoyed have been from Brittany, not Normandy.
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