Calvados Adrien Camut Réserve d’Adrien, Pays D’Auge, La Lande-Saint-Leger

Description

Notes – The Camut family has been producing calvados on their Pays d’Auge estate for almost 200 years. They were at thernforefront of the development of this fine aged spirit suitable for the resurgent restaurant scene that followed the end of World War II in France. The estate is planted with about 4,000 traditional hi-stemmed apple tree varieties – approximately 25 different types -which give balance to the cider and subsequent distilled spirit. No pesticides are ever used and the cider is aged in oak barrels until thernfollowing September when distillation commences. It was Adrien Camut who perfected the family’s distillation methods using therndomaines’ different pot stills—the eldest from the 1920’s and the most recent from 1975—to produce calvados with both the power and finesse to withstand long ageing in oak. The spirit is casked in used barrels at roughly 62 % alcohol and is reduced to about 50 % during the first two years of ageing. The spirit is moved constantly during its youth with the barrels kept no more than 75 % full; this increases the oxidation, the natural reduction in strength and the development of the flavours. After this initial ageing the brandy is moved to larger casks where it slumbers for many years before bottling without filtration. Blended from 35–40 year old calvados, this spirit has a deeper colour and evident oak on the nose plus hints of nuts and spice, rich and round apple notes. A balanced, creamy texture allows waves of developed vanilla and apple spice to glide across the palate ; finishes with hints of cigar spice and a touch of orange.