French – Sipology

Domaine du Verger Brut

December 15, 2019December 15, 2019 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Val de Race Cooperative, Pleudihen sur Rance, Brittany, France

Place of origin: 90% Brittany, 10% Normandy

Apples: 90% bittersweet, 10% bitter

Style: Semi-dry apple cider

ABV: 5%

Purchased for $9/750 ml (Vine & Table, Carmel, Indiana)

Appearance: Light amber

Nose: Apple juice, leather, cut tart apple.

Palate: Effervescent and lightly sweet. Medium tannins, very little acid, no funk.

Finish: More tannin and a little sweetness.

Parting words: I picked this French cider up on one of my trips to Indianapolis. It’s solid, easy drinking and accessible. It has more depth than cheaper French ciders but isn’t going to knock you over with funk and tannin either. It works best as a table cider or an afternoon sipper. The price is pretty good for what it is, but I’d like it even better for a dollar or two less. Domaine du Verger Brut is recommended.

Dupont Reserve

February 18, 2019 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Domaine Dupont, Victot-Pontfol, Normandy, France

Style: Calvados-barrel-aged cider.

Apples: 67% bittersweet, 33% acidic

Place of origin: (Pays d’Auge) Normandy, France.

Vintage: 2016 (bottled 2017)

Notes: Unpasteurized, wild yeast fermented. Aged in Calvados barrels for six months.

ABV: 6.9%

Purchased for $25/750 ml (Vine & Table, Carmel, Indiana)

Parting words: Domaine Dupont is one of the big cheeses of Calvados and like many other Calvados houses, they make cider and pommeau as well. The domaine has been owned by the Dupont family since 1917. Current patriarch Éitienne Dupont modernized the estate when he took over from his father Jules in the 1980s. He handed the business over to his son Jérôme and daughter Ann-Pamy in 2002. Sadly, Jérôme was killed in an accident in August of 2018. Éitienne has come out of retirement to help Ann-Pamy and the management team to lead the company.

Dupont’s line of ciders consists of the entry-level Cidre Bouche (reviewed in 2014), an organic cider, Triple (triple fermented from 100% bittersweets), Cuvée Colette (champagne method), and this one, the Calvados-barrel aged Reserve. I didn’t care for the Cidre Bouche when I tried it (too dry and funky) but I really enjoy this cider. The barrel aging adds a wonderful creamy sweetness that balances out the chalky funk. The result is a well-rounded, complex but easy-drinking cider that anyone can enjoy.

That doesn’t come cheap, but Dupont Reserve is easily worth the price. Dupont Reserve is highly recommended.

Manoir de Montreuil Cambremer Pays d’Auge Cidre

September 9, 2018 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Domaine Manoir de Montreuil, Montreuil-en-Auge, Calvados, Normandy, France (Giard family)

Apples: Various heirloom French cider varieties.

Place of origin: Domaine Manoir de Montreuil, Pays d’Auge, Calvados, Normandy, France.

ABV: 4.5%

Purchased for $13/750 ml (Westborn Market, Berkley, Michigan)

Appearance: Golden orange.

Nose: Sourdough starter, sawdust, dried apricots.

Palate: Fizzy and sweet. Caramel apple with peanuts, smoked pork shoulder.

Finish: Mild but meaty. Apple wood smoked pork.

Parting words: The Giard family has owned the Manoir de Montreuil estate since the eighteenth century. Like many apple growers in Calvados, the Giards produce cider and brandy from their estate, both under the Pays d’Auge appellation.

As far as I can tell, the brandy is not available in the US, except for in California where it sells in the $40-$45 range, which seems like a bargain for estate Calvados. One of the estate’s claims to fame is its large herd of free-range cattle which are allowed to roam the orchard and fertilize the soil the old-fashioned way.

I have found some Norman ciders to be overly tannic and funky. While the nose is funk and tannin forward, the palate is surprisingly fruity and even meaty on the back-end. While the orchards may be home to a lot of beef, the finish is porky. It’s like quality pork chops smoked over fruit wood.

It pairs very well with food of all kinds and is a great value at $13. Be careful, though! When I started to untwist the wire cage, the cork shot out, leaving a foamy mess all over my dining room floor.

Manoir de Montreuil Cambremer Pays d’Auge Cidre is recommended.

Dan Armor Cuvée Spéciale Cidré Poire

February 12, 2018 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Cidres Dujardin, Jurques, Calvados, Lower Normandy, France

Place of origin: Brittany, France.

Style: Perry (poire en français)

ABV: 4.5%

Purchased for $5/750 ml (Trader Joe’s)

Appearance: Medium gold. Fizzy on first pour. Head fades quickly but bubbles keep going strong.

Nose: Canned pear syrup, grated lemon zest.

Palate: Full-bodied and medium sweet. Cut pear with a little lemon juice. Traces of yeast, tannin.

Finish: Sweet but drying. Overripe green pears.

Parting words: I reviewed the tasty Dan Armor apple cider three years ago. This perry is sweeter and less complex (as perries often are) but enjoyable. Sweetness and fruit dominate, but tartness (as it warms in the glass) and tiny whiffs of funk and tannin keep Dan Armor poire from being one-dimensional. It’s hard to ask for more from a $5 perry. Dan Armor Cuvée Spéciale Cidré Poire is recommended.

Blind Gamay head to head: Beaujolais vs. Old Mission

January 31, 2018January 31, 2018 JoshLeave a comment

Yes, it’s another head to head! This time I decided to pit a 2014 Gamay Noir from Chateau Grand Traverse on Old Mission Peninsula against a 2014 Beaujolais-Villages from Joseph Drouhin, one of Burgundy’s biggest négociants (wine buyers/blenders/bottlers). I enlisted the help of friends of the blog Amy and Pete to help us out (last seen here). Just to make sure we were tasting the wine and not our biases, we tasted these two wines blind. I’ll review them that way too, revealing which is which (and price and ABV) at the end. I’ll integrate the co-taster’s notes into my own, noting if they differ from mine.

Appearance

A: Dark rose.

B: Similar, but a little darker

Nose

A: Fruity, berries specifically. I also smelled pepper and a drop of balsamic vinegar (in a good way)

B: Very similar, maybe a little more oak and a little less balsamic.

Palate

A: Light bodied. Strawberry, blackberry, oak.

B: Same flavor palette, but a little drier, chewier and more intense. That said, none of us knew if I could tell these two apart in a wider tasting. They both grew tart as they warmed, shifting into raspberry.

Finish

A: Drying. Balsamic, oak.

B: Similar but drier and longer.

20170916_211025 — I forgot to take pictures of the Gamay tasting, so here’s Amy & Pete tasting Riesling.

THE REVEAL

A= Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages, 2014. 12.5% ABV. $16 (Holiday Market)

B= Chateau Grand Traverse Gamay Noir, 2014 (Old Mission Peninsula AVA). 12% ABV. $15 (Holiday Market)

The CGT Gamay Noir performed slightly better, but as I wrote above, the wines were virtually identical. Both were delicious and paired well with the chocolate and cheese we nibbled on during the tasting. They’d both do well with grilled or roasted chicken, salmon or pork. Both are recommended, but why not save yourself a buck while supporting the Mitten state and pick up a bottle of CGT Gamay Noir the next time you buy wine!

Cognac D’Usse VSOP

September 29, 2016September 29, 2016 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Chateau de Cognac, Cognac, Charente, France. (Bacardi)

Region: Blend.

Age category: VSOP (at least 4 y/o).

ABV: 40%

Michigan state minimum: $51

Appearance: Brownish copper with long, elegant legs.

Nose: Alcohol, felt, old oak, prune juice.

Palate: Full bodied. Juicy and a little chewy with a bold burn throughout.

Finish: Raisins, oak, heat. Long.

Parting words: Cognac d’Ussé is best known for being developed (endorsed?) by Jay-Z. Don’t confuse it with other celebrity spirits like Conjure Cognac or Ciroc vodka. Those are garbage, this is not. D’Usse is a product of Chateau de Cognac, appropriately located in a castle in central Cognac. Baron Otard is Chateau de Cognac’s primary product line with all the usual suspects. Unlike those, D’Usse (this and the $200+ XO) is made by blending brandies from all over CdC’s estates. It was intended to rope in a young, hip audience. How young and/or hip I am is up for debate, but I have been roped in.

There are no flavors or aromas here that are too far outside the norm for Cognacs, but they’re all amped up while remaining balanced. As a newcomer to good Cognac, I really enjoyed it. The price is in the same ballpark as other VSOPs from Cognac houses of comparable size. Not that it matters but the bottle is really cool looking too. D’Usse VSOP is recommended.

Chateau du Tariquet, 8 years old.

July 14, 2016August 22, 2016 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Chateau du Tarquiet, Éauze, Condom, Gers, France.

Grape: Folle Blanche (100%)

Place of origin: Tariquet estate, Bas-Armagnac.

Age: 8 y/o (distilled Nov 1999, bottled July 2010)

ABV: 51.1%

Purchased for $64 (Vine & Table, Carmel, Indiana)

Appearance: Dark auburn with lots of closely spaced legs.

Nose: Overdone oatmeal raisin cookies: Vanilla, toasted cookie, raisins.

Palate: Alcohol, dried figs, old oak.

Finish: Hot, fading into macerated raisins.

Parting words: Armagnac is a type of French brandy produced in the Armagnac region of southwestern France. It differs from Cognac in a few ways. First, it’s made in a different region altogether. Second, Armagnac is made in Alembic continuous stills unlike Cognac, and it is only distilled once, also unlike Cognac which is distilled twice. This can give Armagnac a bold, rustic character that sets it apart from its mild, easy drinking cousin.

There’s not a lot of information on this Armagnac house to be found on the internet. What I was able to discover was that Tarquiet produces a fairly wide assortment of Armagnacs as well as Cote de Gascogne wines. The vineyards were purchased by the Arnaud family (bear-trainers by trade) in 1912. Hélène Arnaud married a young hairdresser named Pierre Grassa after World War II and the estate passed into the hands of the Grassa family. Armin and Rémy Grassa, grandsons of Hélène and Pierre, are now chief winemakers at the estate.

I don’t review a lot of Armagnacs, but I would like to review more. The biggest obstacle to that is the extremely limited select of them in Michigan. So I try to pick some up when I can when traveling. This one appealed to me because it is relatively affordable and available at cask strength. It’s not the most flavorful one I’ve had, but it has some very nice oak characteristics and rich raisin flavors that make it fun to drink. I like it. Chateau du Tariquet, 8 years old (100% Folle Blanche, cask strength) is recommended.

NOTE: Factual error about method of distillation has been corrected.

Camus VS Elegance

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016 Josh1 Comment

Maker: Camus, Cognac, Charente, France 2016-01-06-14.57.54.jpg.jpeg

Age category: VS (at least 2 y/o)

ABV: 40%

Price: $26 (The Party Source)

Appearance: Bright copper with thick, slow moving legs

Nose: Raisins, old oak, fig, alcohol.

Palate: Soft and mild. Oatmeal raisin cookies.

Finish: Dried fig, dates, alcohol, vanilla.

Parting words: The Camus Cognac house dates back to 1863. Unlike its much bigger competitors it is family and French owned, and always has been. The current president is Cyril Camus (b. 1971), a descendent of founder Jean-Baptiste Camus (b. 1835). They also share similar facial hair. Cyril created the Elegance line of entry level, age category cognacs, and the Borderies XO, made with grapes from the family vineyards in the Borderies sub-region of Cognac. He also began a line of cognacs made entirely with grapes from Île de Ré, a small island (33 square miles or so) off the coast of western France. Frankly, Camus produces a bewildering number of products for such a small company.

The Elegance line, as mentioned above, seems to be intended as an entry level product line. It also includes Elegance VSOP, XO and Extra (in ascending order of age). The VS is the least expensive but the VSOP is affordable as well. Unfortunately, the state of Michigan does not carry the VS, but the VSOP retails for $39, which is not bad in the grand scheme of things. Michigan also carries Elegance XO ($157), Borderies XO ($177), Extra Elegance ($500) and Cuvee 5.150 ($14,000).

I expected this brandy to be mixing quality at best. I was pleasantly shocked. The fruity quality of the distillate clearly takes the lead here, but it’s very good on its own and is balanced with enough cask character to keep it from tasting like an unaged eau de vie. I tasted from a 50 ml bottle so I didn’t quite have enough to try it mixed, but I can see the assertive fruit getting in the way of some mixers. Or maybe it wouldn’t. What I can say with certainty is that Camus Elegance VS is very good. Recommended.

Rémy Martin XO Excellence

July 14, 2015 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Rémy Martin, Cognac, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France (Remy Cointreau)

Place of origin: Champagne, Cognac (not to be confused with the wine region of the same name)

Age category: XO (6 y/o or older)

ABV: 40%

Michigan State Minimum: $150

Apparently: Reddish orange.

Nose: Alcohol, rancio, orange peel, almond extract, cherry, vanilla.

Palate: Full mouthfeel. Semi-dry. Roasted almonds, Queen Anne Cherries, white mulberries, white wine grapes.

Finish: Golden raisins, old oak, leather. Lingers for a very long time.

Parting words: I’m not in the habit of buying $150 bottles of anything, let alone Cognac. Luckily I was able to find a 50 ml bottle of this. I had to share it with you, of course, dear readers.

My biggest question is always, is it worth the money? My Cognac experience is limited but this is by far the best one I’ve ever had. It’s complex and well integrated. Fruity but not sweet. For 40% ABV, it has a lot of power too. If I were tasting blind, I would never guess that it was that low. As a bourbon guy, I would still appreciate a bigger proof at this price, but cask strength Cognac isn’t really a thing so it would probably be unfair to criticize this on that basis.

As elegant as it gets, Rémy Martin XO Excellence is recommended.

Calvados Coquerel Fine

June 25, 2015June 25, 2015 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Calvados Coquerel, Milly, Manche, Normandy, France

Age: 2 y/o

ABV: 40%

Price: $29 (The Party Source. It seems to have disappeared off the Michigan list)

Appearance: Golden auburn, a lot of necklacing, big thick legs.

Nose: Alcohol, dry apple cider, toasted French oak.

Palate: Thin, alcohol, dry apples, maple sugar, celery.

Finish: celery, oak, under ripe apple, Like Arkansas black or similar variety, white sugar, dash of vanilla.

Parting words: Calvados Coquerel was founded in 1937 by René Gilbert and remained in the hands of the Gillbert family until it was purchased by Asbach in 1971. Asbach became a part of Diageo in 1990 but Calvados Coquerel regained its independence when it was sold to Jean-François Martin in 1996 (not to be confused with the Remy-Martin Cognac house).

Fine is the bottom shelf, err “entry level”, apple brandy from Calvados Coquerel. The other grades are Vieux (3 y/o), VSOP(4 y/o) and XO (6 y/o). The line is capped off with the Marquis de la Pomme fifteen and twenty year old brandies. They also make a variety of other apple-related beverages including cider all using Norman apples.

This brandy has been savaged online, maybe a bit unfairly. It’s certainly not great, but as a mixer or casual sipper it’s good enough. The price is a bit hard to swallow, though. One can get the Laird’s 7 ½ y/o apple brandy for three dollars more and the 100 proof Laird’s for just one dollar more. Black Star Farms does make an apple brandy in a similar style but at $22 for a 375 ml bottle, it works out to be much more expensive per ml.

All that said, given European brandy prices, this product isn’t priced too far out of line but that doesn’t mean its worth the money either. Calvados Coquerel Fine is mildly recommended.