Top-notch apple things

A few Calvados

apple-based spirits

From 2016 to 1991

Michel Huard 2016 46% (2022 bottling)

Young AOC Calvados from Huard. Let’s go!

Colour: Hay, green lights. Irregular medium tears.

Nose: OHard cider and muesli scents at first. A touch of grassy notes in the background. Fresh and sharp kind of Calvados. A few malted notes tend to soften the sharpness with air. Hints of gueuze beer shades too.

Palate: Sharp attack, with cider apple bitterness and fresh spiced notes of cloves and cardamom. Extreme acidity on yuzu and lime in the aftertaste. It ends on white pepper and menthol. Swoooosh.

Last Notes: Oily, briny notes of olive and anchovies. Fresh apple juice, of course. Leather cream. Back on the palate, you get a few buttery notes. Nice mouth length, still with a high level of acidity. Perfect oak integration, if you ask me.

Fresh, vivid and surprising kind of Calvados. But that’s no surprise coming from this very talented estate.

88/100

Christian Drouin Kirsch Import 1991 Pays d'Auge 49%

Vintage Pays d’Auge bottled for Kirsch Import (Journal des Kirsch brand), and that one has quite a reputation.

Colour: Mahogany, red lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Crazy rum-like nose. Hints of Jamaican notes, something like a baby Enmore. Full of blood orange scents. Apple strudel. Hints of floral notes, mainly rosewater. A touch of warm pinewood too.

Palate: Oily texture. Humid cellar notes at first. Plenty of vanilla and liquorice. Burnt wood notes in the aftertaste, with a touch of zestiness. Great mouth length on violet sweets and overripe apple.

Last Notes: Now full of heady floral notes. Caramelised apple. Strong balsamic notes. Lingering earthy and zesty aromas. Hints of herbal notes, mainly citronella and peppermint. Precious woods in the background. Thick texture that sticks to the palate. Walnut pie and linseed oil aromas (I mean, I’ve never drunk linseed oil, but I can only imagine it tastes like that).

Deep, complex and multi-layered Pays d’Auge Calvados. Stunning quality.

90/100

Christian Drouin 2001 Pays d’Auge (20yo) 42%

Another PA from Drouin, but a bit younger this time.

Colour: Mahogany, gold lights. Irregular medium tears.

Nose: Earthy and fruity, very rum-like indeed. A mix of fruity sweetness (like a Cuban one — Eminente, for example) and more rustic notes (let’s say Neisson). Hints of roasted notes in the background, mainly coffee. Ample pastry notes, with obvious Tatin pie aromas.

Palate: Rich texture. Round, but with a nice acidity in the aftertaste. Aside from classic cooked apple flavours, you still get some rum impressions, more in a Barbadian style, with a fine mix of pastry and exotic fruit notes. Precise aftertaste, with hints of bitter grapefruit. Nice oak integration, it has to be said.

Last Notes: Intense nutty notes, with great hazelnut cream aromas. Caramelised carrots. A touch more roasted notes, mainly ristretto. Back on the palate, you get warm spiced notes of nutmeg powder. It ends on cardamom and poached pears.

Deep and precise. Almost a perfect kind of Pays d’Auge, with a reasonable amount of oak. Fully approved.

89/100

Michel Huard 2001 (20yo) 40%

Early 2000s AOC, and another Huard expression…

Colour: Dark amber, orange lights. Irregular medium tears.

Nose: Juicy, with ample, vivid citrus notes at first, full of tangerine and bergamot aromas. Reminiscent of some hesperidic perfumes like Eau de Basilic Pourpre from Hermès or Bergamotto di Calabria from Acqua di Parma. Truly impressive. A touch of cedarwood too. Tailor-made for a journey along the Mediterranean Sea.

Palate: Even at 40%, it delivers intensity and plenty of aromas. Delicious fresh peppery notes of Sichuan pepper. Even fresher than the nose. Honeysuckle, bay leaf, peppermint. And that typical rusticity of AOC Calvados, with yuzu bitterness and herbal notes.

Last Notes: Damp cellar and briny notes. Hints of rancio indeed. Less fresh than previously perceived. Nice honeyed tones. Back on the palate, you get a bunch of acidulous aromas like violet sweets. It ends on those specific berlingot sweets (the ones from Nantes are really good), plus a touch of basil.

Intense freshness, complexity and rusticity. Ageing beautifully, evolving and clearly translating its terroir. And funky on top of that?