Friardel 2018

The cider is produced after the Méthode traditionelle from 25 different sweet, sour and tannin-strong apple varieties. The 16 hectares of land are in conversion to organic or biodynamic cultivation, the apple juice is fermented spontaneously, and after blending the different varieties, the cider is left to ferment for twelve months. sur lattes.

Friardel is a plantation in the Norman commune of Friardel in the Calvados region. The parent rock is chalk, the subsoil is clay and flint, the topsoil is silt and blue flint. The garden was acquired by Benoit's grandfather in the 1960s. The half-stems already present there were quite old at that time and are now gradually being replaced by Benoit Lesuffleur, whereby the proportion of old stems should always predominate. The cuvée consists of 25 apple varieties, 50 % of bitter varieties such as Mettais and Frèquin, 35 % of bittersweet varieties such as Bedan, Binet rouge and Bisquet, and 15 % of high-acid varieties such as Rambeau and René Martin. The apples were collected by hand, the wine bottled on 15 January 2019 and disgorged on 28 June 2021.

Bright, deep orange, tending towards amber, with a lively mousseux.

The 2018s Friardel belongs to the fraction of tart ciders with 50 % bitter varieties. It smells of tart apples, apple cider and peel combined with fermented tobacco, grapefruit peel and some hops, but also pine resin, earth and smoke.

On the palate, the cider starts with a fine round sweetness that captures the tart notes to join the tart-resinous and subtly bitter notes. The mousseux of the 2018s Friardel is elegant and provides freshness in this silky fine drink, whose apple notes appear pure and clear with its fine, clean must. All this is based on a skilfully integrated tannin structure.