Calvados Dupont Hors d’Age, Pays D’Auge 42% 70cl

Description

Calvados Dupont Hors d’Age has been aged for 6 years in oak barrels, 25% of which are new oak. Domaine Dupont is situated in the heart of the Pays d’Auge Calvados; a region long considered to add a little extra to the finesse and delicacy of the calvados because it only permits the use of apples and insists on double pot distillation. Etienne Dupont, who took over from his father in 1980, has worked hard to improve both the old orchards and the distillation methods. The orchardsrnnow combine small standard trees as well as older taller trees, and the varieties such as Saint Martin, Doux Normandie and Noël des Champs are specially cultivated to provide the maximum aromatic qualities from their small fruits. To perfect his distilling techniques, Etienne went to Cognac and studied their methods. This, combined with the knowledge he inherited, produce a spirit that represents the flavour and ripeness of the apple alongside the mellowness and warmth of a wellaged spirit. He also experiments with ageing in different size casks and oak types to ensure that the flavour extracted through distillation is further enhanced during maceration. Dupont use three types of apples in a set formula : 30 % sweet, 30 % bitter and 40 % are apples with high acidity, this gives the correct balance of flavour. All the apples are cropped manually and stored in open wooden crates to allow them to rest and mature for up to a month before fermentation.