Friardel Poiré 2018

Wine Description for Friardel Poiré 2018 by Lesuffleur

Colour & Appearance

A luminous, amber-toned gold with warm orange reflections – the mousseux is fine, lively and of remarkable precision. The colour alone reveals it: there is history in this glass.

Nose

The nose is complex and of singular charm: ripe perry pear meets iodine and the cool, doughy depth of a Gueuze beer. To this are added notes of blonde tobacco, a warm pear tart fresh from the oven and the wet coolness of crushed stone. Unmistakably Norman, unmistakably wild.

Palate

On the palate, this poiré unfolds with an elegance one simply does not expect from a sparkling wine made from pears. The sweetness is playful, never intrusive – it counterbalances the bitter, profound aromas of pear and quince, apple, kumquat skin and clear must. The tannin – yes, tannin in a pear sparkling wine – creates a pleasant, gentle resistance. The acidity is silky, the minerality lively and fresh.

Finish

Long, cool and marked by a fine bittersweet tension. Iodine and stone linger, the fruit fades away. A finish that gives pause for thought.

Terroir & Origin

The commune of Friardel lies in the Norman Calvados region. The subsoil of chalk, clay and flint, covered by silt and blue flint, gives this poiré its mineral tension and cool depth.

Grape Variety & Vinification

The fruit comes from a single, over 200-year-old pear tree of unknown variety – hand-harvested, spontaneously fermented. The bottling using Méthode Traditionnelle took place on 2nd March 2019, disgorging on 6th December 2021. No intervention, no compromises.

Food Pairing Suggestions

An extraordinary companion for poultry terrine with Roquefort and pear, equally convincing with spring chicken with porcini tortellini and sage butter or a golden beetroot quiche with pine nuts and Roquefort.

Special Features

Rarely does one encounter a sparkling wine that emerges so consistently from a single source – a single tree – whilst achieving such complexity and depth. The Friardel Poiré is no curiosity, it is a serious, great sparkling wine – which happens to be made from pears.