Domaine Pinnacle Cidre de Glace

400 blog posts published. Phew. Didn't think that would ever happen! To some degree, I am not sure I ever wanted to make this many posts - well, this many reviews anyway. As a cider maker, I would much rather leave this job to those who drink cider. There were very few who reviewed or promoted ciders as a part of a blog when I started: the Cider Blog started around the same time as I did (great minds n'all that), and Ricky Hammond was posting one or two videos on Youtube (good n fun by the way). But now, well, now there are plenty to choose from. With that, however, you get the usual mix. Some are great, fun and informative. Some are biased and poorly done. Some make me wish they would stop. On the whole, it is a good thing though.

Let me be honest, however. This isn't the 400th review. In fact, I think it is the 359th. But, never one to miss marking an occasion (by the way, during my lapse of posting reviews I notice the blog has passed the quarter of a million mark) I wanted to select something extraordinary to try.

This 'cider de glace' is quite a rare thing, a dessert cider. An 'ice cider' to be exact. I have tried it once before and therefore knew it would be fitting for this occasion. See - not everything I do is reactive:-) I remember it being a very accomplished and complex drink which was served after a few glasses of cider at an event last year. Yum.

So, let me tell you a little about it. It came from Marks and Spencer and had been discounted to only £20 for a 375ml bottle. Hmmm... that may be stretching its value for money just a bit although you have to realise that it is made in Quebec (Canada for those whose geography is as good as mine).

As you can see from the photo, the presentation itself is an occasion - I really like the tube, embossed logo and stuff. In Quebec, it has won over 60 awards and was 'best product of Quebec' in 2011. To a degree that is lost on me as I have no idea what else Quebec makes! But then, I am never sure what any town or county in the UK might make either, so that is not an insult:-)

Ice cider is a little bit of a mystery to me. I know how ice wine is made - the grapes are left on the vine until a sharp frost freezes them at which point they are harvested by people wearing lots of protective layers (it gets cold in Canada). I am not entirely sure this is made the same way, and have seen reports of people freezing the juice before extracting the bit in the middle for a more complex and sweet taste. But isn't that Apple Jack? Anyway, the end result is similar to ice wine: a thick and rich cider that is naturally sweeter and higher in alcohol than a standard cider.

Anyway, the cidre de glace is served as a dessert wine, chilled and a little at a time. It looks deep golden and rich in colour. Very polished. The smell is also rich and deep - I am not getting massive tannins, but almost a hot apple pie and custard aroma; not knowing what apples are grown in Quebec, I assume from this that they are mainly dessert fruit in a similar way to the USA... though I cannot be absolutely certain (and it doesn't really matter).

The taste, at this second tasting, is not as much of an event as the first - perhaps it is because I am sipping it in my kitchen as opposed to around a table with others eating fine food etc. It is very sweet - which is what it should be - and the flavour is pretty punchy and not a little syruppy. There are some complex flavours going on but sitting here it seems that it is more the interaction between the apple taste and the high alcohol that is driving this. It is dessert like - which accounts for lack of tannin, though the style of cidre gives it a fine body.

The aftertaste is sweet and lingering.

On the whole, I find cidre de glace quite satisfying. I would only choose to drink this on an occasion and not as a cider in its own right, which could be read as a flaw - though to e honest, how many people go out to buy a dessert wine without having other more standard wines to enjoy beforehand (or afterwards, if it is an apperatif). I do know that there are others on the market closer to home too - Once Upon A Tree produce a fine example made from Blenheim Orange (another dessert apple which has excellent character). So, if you are looking for something a little different then give it a go.

Cidre de Glace scores a sophisticated 80/100 to earn a silver apple. Very pleasant indeed if you can find the right occasion for it.

As for Cider Pages? Well, I shall continue when I have the time to commit to doing a review properly... it would be good to top 400 reviews:-)

Perry's Puffin Cider

My goodness... I am writing a review for a cider that I drank nearly three weeks ago! Well, I guess this will be testament (or not) to my record keeping! What I can say - as something of a spoiler - is that it is a worthy cider to follow my absence.

Well, I still haven't recovered my pad so I cannot continue the others yet:-)

Puffin cider is another of the Perry's bottle conditioned range - 'using small batch processes'. What this means is that it should be slightly sparkling with a crop of yeast at the bottom (not put there as some kind of artificial cloudiness or dead yeast addition).

Looking at it, this is the dry version, and at 6.5% its all it is claimed so far. I should add that I can also see the yeast settled at the bottom.

Sure enough, it has a low level sparkle and once out of the bottle I can see it is a lovely golden colour. It is rich smelling - a touch yeasty if I am being particularly picky but it feels mature and tannic.

The taste itself is dry - medium dry, but very melow and full bodied. There is some sharpness to it but mostly the experience is deep, fruity cidery notes. The tannin is quite low stated, but it does develop in the mouth to leave it a little drier in the finish.

The aftertaste is also low level and moderate in length. Overall, this is a lovely cider and well presented. And to think I was worried that Perry's might be going in the same direction as Orchard Pig... phew!

A score of 80/100 gives Perry's a silver apple for Puffin. Right up my street!!

Dunkerton's Browns Cider

 

My humble apologies for going absent for the last few weeks. I have been distracted by other things and only now realise how long it has been.

I managed to mislay my notes for the cider reviews from Winchester Ale and Cider Festival - which I have still not got back yet (I know where they are but have to go and fetch them)! Never mind, in a week or two I will have them back... it's worth the wait - honest!!!

And so, for my next review I turn back to a tried and trusted producer; Dunkertons. It would have been nice for this to have followed the review of the Worley's version I tried at Winchester, but there you go. This is a yardstick for that then.

I really like the labels that Dunkertons put on their bottle (OK,  with the exception of the organic thing). This one is simple, bold and delivers sufficient information without being patronising or in any way 'salesy'. Isn't that what a label is supposed to do? Fair enough, it is labelling at it's simplest, but they manage to do it this way for each of their ciders without giving in to the temptation to put a picture of a drunken farmer on it:-)

Not being that sure if I have tried a Browns before, here is a little information about the variety: Originating in Devon during the early 1900's (the period when a lot of varieties come from). It is a bright red, bittersharp variety of apple used predominantly for cider. It harvests mid season too, making it a useful apple to put against the bittersweets to produce a good balanced west country cider.

This cider pours light golden in colour, bright and with a light sparkle. It smells very earthy - low dull fruit with a very clean sense about it. That could well be the sharpness of the variety on display. It is certainly inviting!

To the taste: it is more a medium than a medium dry, though I can see the sweetening being used as a tool to control the sharpness a touch. It is very nice though. A very deep fruit going on which is rich and sharp. There is tannin, but this is very restrained by everything else. It is the acid that is definitely most notable of the two. Saying that, this isn't one dimensional - it is a complex drink with bold flavours as well as a sharpness. Not one for cider virgins (I think).

How to describe the flavour? Well, it has farmyard right through it - or orchards... you know what I mean. There is also a funkiness in the flavour that I can only describe as being the same as an SV Yarlington Mill. I like it, but have never come across it apart from YM.

The aftertaste is long, fruity and luscious (that is what I have written down!) A real treat.

A very respectable score of 82/100 gives Dunkertons a silver apple. Having now taken the time to check it is their 6th Silver Apple to go alongside a couple of Golds... way to go:-)

Thatchers 458 Cider

At first, when I heard that Thatchers were launching a limited edition cider, my ears pricked up. What is more, it was a well known Mr Bill Bradshaw... photographer of all things apple... that asked what it was like. Well, I guess your not worth your salts as a reviewer if you dont at least try to respond to demand like that eh:-)

OK, joking aside, it was interesting - I don't recall missing an anniversary or celebration. This isn't like that. It is a celebration of the varieties collected by John Thatcher and planted in an exhibition orchard that is going on here. After all, the best ciders are blends - arent they!!

It comes in a box too. Well, I am not sure that they all come in boxes but my one here certainly does. Now, is this a chance for Thatchers to prove that they haven't departed the realms of the traditional cider maker too far? I tend to place them alongside Westons - massive production and anywhere between a 50 - 70% juice content (yes, I do tend to work by juice content as it is one of the few real differentiators for mass market/craft ciders). However, to both Thatchers and Westons credit, they do offer a 'break' in nationally available ciders - something with a bit more character than the industrial stuff - a bit more integrity and a hope that they *could* produce a brilliant cider if they really wanted to. A necessary stepping stone (if you like).

OK, lets rattle some stuff off the label before I taste it: “A unique full-flavoured cider made with 458 varieties of apples…"

The bottle itself reminds me of the Aspall Imperial – dark and classy. It doesn’t even look like the traditional Thatchers bottle… and then there is the box. Nice touch. Helpfully, it has tasting notes on it, which gives me a basis from which to review this cider:

ABV: 8.4%

Colour: Warm, rich and golden

Nose: A welcoming floral aroma with subtle spicy notes, coming from the more aromatic varieties of apples, such as Worcester Pearmain, Laxtons Superb and Devonshire Quarrenden.

Palate: 458 varieties of apple perfectly blended to create a balanced, medium cider with plenty of body and flavour. A full cider flavour comes from traditional Somerset varieties such as Somerset Redstreak and Porters Perfection, whilst Howgate Wonder and Grenadier provide a characteristic sharper bite.

Wow. I could write a blog post about this alone. First off, its not so much tasting notes as a sales pitch. So its been put together by the PR people. However, what I am seeing that is interesting are some of the apples used. Not all cider apples then – which is of course no problem, but perhaps more interesting from a company at the heart of Somerset. Take Grenadier (I use that sometimes), a gentle acidic culinary apple that is a bad keeper but quite juicy. And then the Laxtons and Worcester – both gentle and fragrant as apples but once the sugar is fermented not so much.

Saying all that, if they have captured the aromatic nature of some of those apples then it should be very tasty.

458 varieties in a blend; there isn’t much room in that lot for any one of them to dominate (if done in equal measure). As all the apples cme from Thatchers ‘Exhibition orchard’ though it is a very interesting blend to make... not that I am in any way jealous. Well, I am in a kind of not getting my expectations too high kind of way!

OK, getting on with opening things up. Ooh. It has quite a distinctive smell – quite strong and immediately I can tell it isn’t just cider fruit in this cider (confession – I know because I make a cider with both cider and dessert fruit and you can smell the more acidic nature of the dessert apples). However, it also smells cidery too in a tannic way. So far, it fits – rich, very golden, bright and moderately sparkling. I am not exactly going to agree with the nose – it isn’t floral by any stretch: it is deeper than that and also verging on citrus (orange or clemantine?).

The taste is actually very distinctive for Thatchers. The acid leads the taste – an acid coming from the dessert and culinary fruit. This is backed up with a good fruitiness and some gentle underlying tannin that forms at the back of the mouthful. Do you know what… I actually rather like this cider.

There is a touch of syrup in the taste but I suspect this is coming from the back sweetening more than anything to be honest. Finally, a very slight culinary sour note – together with the strong alcohol warmth.

The aftertaste is pleasant, warming and fairly long.

To be absolutely critical, it is a little sweeter than I would like. But it is no more than a medium.

Now, as someone who has given Thatchers a bit of a hard time (with the exception of the Vintage) I have found something in this Thatchers that is more traditional in composure (from a mainstream producer) than I have found since the Gaymers single orchard blends. It very much deserves its score of 86/100. I am not sure, but I don’t think I have awarded a silver apple to a mainstream producer yet… so this is very well done indeed!

Wilcox Dry Cider

OK. Winchester Ale and Cider Festival had quite a few ciders that I haven't tried before. Sadly, too many really to cover here in fact, but I managed to taste five of them.

As a small to medium sized festival, this has to be one of the finer events that CAMRA sticks it's name too. It is certainly an annual favourite of mine and even though tickets can be like hens teeth to get hold of very worth making the effort to get to. If for nothing else, Winchester is a delight to see and hang out in... in much the same way I think Bath and Salisbury are too... and Exeter. Oh, you know what I mean: old town with character and a grand town hall.

Starting with the Wilcox dry - it was meant (I think) to be a medium but I was told that it was a dry and a sweet that were delivered. So they had the right one on for me then!!

Wilcox produce their cider in Cheddar, Somerset and trace their cidermaking history back to 1868. Wow, that is a long time to be making cider! Although their 'news' page is a bit out of date, they have won some awards - notably a second place at the Bath and West Show in 2012. That is no mean feat at what is billed as the biggest cider competition in the world (Okay, friends from USA - Great Lakes is an awesome competition too!!)

This cider is golden, hazy and still - the perfect draught look about it! To smell, it is very fruity with a rounded tone that indicates there are some tannins to it.

The taste is very dry; an astringent cider with a bunch of bold fruit flavours and no great acid to offset it. That is not to say there isn't any acid going on, but it is very definitely overun by the big tannin. I do think that there is a dominant apple variety in here too, though I cannot really place it off hand. It could be Yarlington, but that is perhaps a bit more identifiable than this. I guess it could be Dabinett... they do make one and it is the right profile. However, whatever it is I like the cider a lot.

This is on the cusp of being a cracking scrumpy as opposed to anything particularly refined. However, don't let that put you off - well, unless you don't like really dry ciders!

The aftertaste is dry like a teabag - the nodes on the tongue stand on end and act like sandpaper on the roof of your mouth:-)

A nice bold cider to start with then - with stacks of fruit, well presented and with big tannins. Just what you expect from a Somerset cider.

A score of 81/100 gives Wilcox a very neat silver apple from me!

Incidentally, the photo was taken at home and came from a take out bottle:-) Well, it was jolly nice to appreciate it in the calm of day!!

Newton Court Golden Blush Cider

Time to move back to something real and familiar... a cider from Newton Court. And, thankfully, a medium dry, traditionally crafted and sparkling cider at that. And with 6.2% alcohol I can settle that this is all good and proper.

I have, in fact, met Newton Court cider before now... not that they would really know (even if they read this). Being a Herefordshire based company - Leominster, they fit into the 'nice cider people' category... relaxed, comfortable with their cider and practices. What is not to like so far! I like the nice people in cider... if you follow facebook and twitter, cider can get quite testy now and again. With people who are comfortable in their skin, I suspect they are still passionate - but, being happy in their own opinion, are happy to let others rant and rage against the machine.

OK, that over - I am dying to get this bottle open and try it out. I have season 2 of Luther queued up and nothing else that needs my attention. One of those rare moments, so lets get on with it!

It is nicely carbonated and bright in the bottle. quite bright in fact - I suspect this has been cleared and carbonated at bottling. Nothing wrong with that - I am finding that a bit of this isn't so bad these days. Mind you, if it's been overdone it could be a problem. It is golden and inviting.

The smell I am getting is heavily bittersweet - is that Yarlington Mill I can detect as being the dominant? Sure enough, it is there in the flavour too - very pleasant - not a single variety by any means - there is some acid in here; in the background, but it is there and it offsets the drying. The sweetening is sensible too - not too much. There is a tangy tone at the back of the palate which is interesting - this drink feels alive. A slight heaviness of farmhouse at the beginning and a tang at the end. Lovely.

The aftertaste is long. Quite drying too... in fact it has made me stop and consider it - which quite a few recently have failed to do! Very nice - I feel that I deserve something like this, having most recently ploughed my way through Koppabergs!!

I mean, apologies for mentioning it in the same post as a good cider, but how can anyone compare that with this? How can Koppaberg be called a cider against this? Sure, Koppaberg drinkers would hate this - far to intense, lively and strong (flavour as well as alcohol). They wouldn't be able to treat it like an alcopop. Surely there are beers with more in common with this than that Swedish stuff!

Oh well... at least I have the rest of the bottle of Newtons Court I can sit back and enjoy without thinking about the 'troubles' of cider in the UK. And served up with a nice bit of gruesomeness... lovely.

Golden Blush earns a silver apple with a score of 87/100.

Wilcox Dabinet Apple Cider

I am shocked to say that I have never tried a Wilcox cider on here before. I guess that there are so many things to try that I may skip the odd few now and again... and as long as I eventually get to them no harm done eh?!

This is part of a haul from the Bristol Cider Shop over the last month. It is nice to see that they do change the range every so often - after all, you must try other things now and again to really appreciate where you are in the range of tastes. Given that cider changes barrel to barrel, year to year, I did fear for a while that I would have to start all over again at some point. Well, when I run out of new things to try I may go back to some and update them with re-tastings... after all, there are those who I think I have been harsh on, those who I think I was too generous to and those.. well... those that I would use any excuse to seek out and try another bottle!

This Wilcox, for me, isn't the ideal Wilcox to start off with - it is medium sweet and also a single variety. Still, if I like it then I will be hunting down the drier versions toute suite!!OK, it pours out with a low sparkle and is golden and bright. In all fairness, filtering is not something I do a lot of, and I do feel that some cider/perry is so heavily filtered that it loses something... but at the same time, there is something nice about a bit of a clarity.

The smell is sweet, but has lots of dabinet coming through (note to Wilcox... I am sure it is spelled dabinet and not dabinett!) This smell is fruity, slightly funky and lively with a mature farmyard background. Good start!

It is a medium sweet but there is some character of fruit coming into the taste too. In fact, the more I drink the better the balance of fruit and sweet there is. And it is a nice example of dabinet. Having made a truly SV version myself as a trial, I can say with confidence that this is good dabinet! There is little acid to it - which is right for dabinet. Its a really good cider.

I guess if I am being super picky, I would say that the sweetening leaves things a touch cloying, but I guess that is splitting hairs... after all, it is a sweet!

There is a long, drying aftertaste. This is where tannic bittersweet apples come into their own.

Overall, this is a great cider. If it were a dry I suspect it would earn a gold apple, but as it is a silver one is pretty good going. Nice. A score of 83/100.

Dunkerton's Perry

Apologies for the minor absence, it was not intentional but... there you go. Hopefully I now have time and cider/perry enough to keep things going once again:-) I was intending to say that "this is the last of the perries on my shelf". But then I bought some more - so you have a few more reviews to look forward to.

However, this is the last of the perries that have sat around for a while waiting for me to pluck up enough courage to try them. I am glad I did - not because I won't look back in a few months and wish I had more experience before writing them but because this perry lark now fascinates me! For a drink that is made pretty much using the same practices as cider, using pretty much the same kind of raw materials, it is so much more nuanced and delicate than most of the ciders that I have tried. There are real wine comparisons that you can draw on - far more than with cider. It really is a different kettle of fish. And that has surprised me.

Dunkerton's are among my favourite cider producers, making honest cider and exploring tastes without compromising. I can see them tasting and testing their different blends or single variety ciders; some good and some rejected. Too many cidermakers simply launch wholesale into 'innovative' ideas and throw them out onto the market... Whitehead's 'Beetroot' cider is such an example. If I wanted to drink beetroot juice then I would press some beetroot - not chuck it into cider! And then there are those who believe the key to the treasure chest of cider making lies in a bottle of sweetener...

Okay, enough ranting for now. Lets go for this perry then.

It pours out foamy and clear into the glass. The smell is pungent - no need to stick my nose into this one! However, it is a deep smell: tannic, rich and bold. That makes this unusual for a perry - they are normally more nuanced than this. However, I like it.

The taste is much milder than the smell, oddly. It is very smooth - I am getting a pear/cidery flavour with a touch of farmyard too. There are peaches in the taste as well. This seems to be a theme with good perry... peaches. It is almost creamy, although this could be the fizz.

There is some tannin in here, but very little acid which kind of accentuates the tannin a touch. The aftertaste is long and nice too and lingers. Very good. I am satisfied!

A score of 85/100 puts this almost on par with the Olivers. A silver apple for Dunkertons.

Burrow Hill Perry

Well, both Olivers and Burrow Hill were my favourite producers of 2013, so I guess it is fair cop to try the Burrow Hill Perry next. I expect something slightly different too - after all, each comes from a distinct cider/perry producing county: mind you, I confess to having heard the saying that perry can only be made in sight of May Hill and somewhere in my brain that suggested that perry pears were only grown in Herefordshire... which of course is complete nonsense,

While I am not planning on getting drawn into a 'May Hill' argument, I will attempt to explain it... which is perhaps a bit ironic seeing as this perry is from Somerset:-)

May Hill is, guess what, a hill situated between Herefordshire and Gloucestershire (in fact, that is not a bad way of describing it as some of it is in Gloucestershire and some is in Herefordshire). The saying goes along the lines (as I have already mentioned) that perry pears only grow in sight of May Hill (i.e. Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire... I think). Or, that perry can only be made in sight of the hill. I am not sure of the provenance of the saying (though I bet it comes from the counties around May Hill), and perhaps it suggests the roots of perry making in the UK rather than anything more significant... Well, this perry should prove or disprove it; and to be honest I am expecting it to be pretty good!

Myths and stories aside, I am familiar with Burrow Hill - they are one of my favourite producers... and I have good taste:-) Mind you, my experience of them is from a cider and cider brandy perspective - so this should be an interesting departure for me. This perry looks light golden - pretty yellow in fact. It is also bright. Once again, this is likely filtered as there has been no settlement in the several months it has been sat on my shelf.

Pouring it out, there is a low level of carbonation going on. It froths a bit but settles well. It smells almost cidery. It has rather a rich smell; delicate but rich at the same time. I am getting quite a lot of peachy in the nose - which is quite pleasant. Perhaps it is me, but these perries sure are much more aromatic than cider in the complex notes.

On the first taste I am still thinking 'cidery' - it does have some of the same qualities as a cider... I ought to make the point that Olivers perry had similar qualities, although I think it was a bit more gentle. I am getting grapefruit now - it is probably as there is a moderate amount of acid in the mouth, plus it is a medium dry - which it is (no more, no less). Thinking about it, there is a rather generous amount of acid in this perry - alongside a mature tannin.

The aftertaste is a little warming in the throat, like a wine. The aftertaste is moderate in length and fading.

I like this perry a lot. It is quite vineous - it does say on the label to treat it like a wine and I am getting the impression that perry is more a wine than cider. Well, I say that on that basis of two excellent perries. Magners pear cider? Well, as with the cider I confess to thinking that it is a blend of cider and alcopop...

Anyway, this perry scores a silver apple with 80/100.

Olivers Cider and Perry Co., Classic Perry

What to follow the Magners Pear Cider then? Well, with a name like 'Classic Perry' and made by arguably one of the foremost perry makers in the world, this should be an excellent example (and one that sets the bar fairly high for this style of drink).

Scavenging information from the bottle, I can see that it is both carbonated and pasteurised. OK, I do have some issues with these processes although the proof itself is in the drinking. Pears are a difficult and unpredictable fruit - I have heard that it can remain hazy following fermentation. So some form of filtration is probably almost inevitable if you want to guarantee something clear. As for pasteurisation; well, it depends on whether/how the perry is sweetened. So, without wishing to undo things I have said in the past about both processes it really does depend on how they are done. Let's get on with it then.

Oh, one more thing. I confess to knowing a little about Olivers and the description of the production fits nicely with that - ripe fruit being pressed and fermented in barrels before bottling... simple yet seemingly so difficult for many producers!

This perry is moderately carbonated - it has been sat on my shelf for some months and still is clear and not excessively sparkling... it hasn't developed further on my shelf (the result of both filtration and pasteurisation). It is a light golden colour and has a strong aroma - almost cidery. It has citrus notes and wet hedge too... ok, nettles and berries. I am not getting a heavy pear smell from it - well, not pears I am familiar with.

Wow. This is as different from Magners as you can get. It is a full smooth taste with floral notes as well as a slightly lemon note too. The pears have developed during fermentation - in the same way that cider doesn't really taste of apples (if you are drinking a cider that just tastes of apple juice... not mentioning Westons:-) then it is worth considering this fact). I am getting some tannin too and yet there is very little acid to balance against it.

This is quite complex - and I am not an expert on perry. However, it is really very good. Taking a few more gulps I am starting to get more of the pears in the taste... this is a bit of a quaffing perry. Very nice.

There is a moderate length aftertaste which is a touch warming yet also satisfying. There is still no real acid but it does taste more juicy in the mouth as an aftertaste.

OK, this was exactly the comparison I was hoping for as a second perry. A score of 87/100 and a silver apple for Olivers!

Little Weeke Cider Company, Kestor Gold

The cider I have chosen for this evening is something a little special - a traditional method cider from Devon producer Little Weeke Cider Company. I got this from the Cider Museum in Hereford earlier this year and, at £9.95, have saved it for a decent evening preferably with company. Well, I nearly got there - it is not a bad evening, but I don't have the company so will have to drink it on my own.

Oh well, it is a tough job eh!

Traditional Method cider, alongside keeving, is regarded by many producers as the pinnacle of cider. Looking back in history, I guess we see this style of cider fetching the best prices and gracing the tables of the gentry (as opposed to the still cider - which was more of the farmers lot). Making it is also quite a lot of work... essentially you do all of the things that is done to create champagne... except for the raw materials! You see, bottle conditioning is half the job. However, there is yeast settlement and, for highly sparkling cider this will not do... opening the bottle stirs up the yeast and you lose the clarity. So, by disgorging the yeast (basically, getting rid of it) you get a highly sparkling, clear cider... the best have a mousse like fizz and are every bit as good as champagne... better if what you are after is taste!!:-)

OK - that drove a coach and horses through the process of producing traditional method cider. Note the name; in the UK we should really call it traditional method. You cannot call it Champagne method as the Champagne region is in France and is protected. You shouldn't really call it methode traditionelle (it is French... the cider is British) and Methode Champagnoise is right out! I even have a bit of a problem calling it 'Cider Bouche' as that is a mix of French and English.

I am not going to steal from others research, but if you read 'Ciderland' by James Crowden then you will discover research that demonstrates punted (heavy duty) bottles, and their use was recorded in England before Dom Perignon took the idea and went on to create the Champagne style. Now, I have to say he DID develop the riddling/disgorging of the drink... that isn't English... but I quite like that this style owes as much to the British as the French and is essentially a collaboration. And the fact that Dom Perignon was a monk just makes the whole thing very colourful!

Right, back to Kestor Gold... A nice clear label declares, "Ancient Dartmoor orchards around Clegford provide XXX"

Opening the bottle with a pop, it pours out golden and with a fine creamy mousse carbonation that is persistent... so far, exactly as it is supposed to be! The sell is delightful - a touch of farmyard about it with light sharp aroma's coming through. As the Devon 'tradition' is much more balanced tannin vs sharpness than either Herefordshire or Somerset I expect this to have a bit of a kick as well as a fruity tannin to it. Coming back to it again (child duties called... why won't children just go to be without a fuss:-) the smell is deeper with a rich aroma coming off it as well as the sharpness.

Nice!

The taste is lovely, although it does have a bit of apple sweets about it. On the whole it comes across as a well made west country cider with a lovely sparkle that enhances the sharpness and gives the somewhat mellow tannins room to develop in the mouth. There is also a bit of earthy gravelliness about this cider too. Lovely. However, I cannot get the image of boiled sweeets as an additional flavour in my mouth... perhaps it is a specific variety that I haven't come across before. Certainly there is a dominant variety in here, but the boiled sweets?!

It is a clean, fresh cider that has a deep fruitiness to it. I think I am making it sound more complex than it is, but I do like this cider. The aftertaste is long and fruity... just as well I have the bottle to myself! It is a bit of a shame that it cost a tenner to buy... though my experience of buying ciders from the Cider Museum is that you do pay a bit of a premium for them.

Apple sauce. That is what it is!!! I wonder if the juice was pasteurised for holding prior to fermenting...

Anyway, this cider scores a great 81/100 - earning itself a silver apple from me.

Dunkertons Breakwell Seedling Cider

Having now got the Great British Beer Festival and my trip to France out of the way... lots of lovely cider (or cidre, depending on your perspective). Anyway, taking a glance at my cider shelf, I can see that it has grown somewhat (and a bit dusty too). I am constantly amazed at how much cider is around these days (although perhaps the quality/standards of some of the cider needs a post in its own right!)

Heading for the one that has been shouting 'drink me' the loudest, I opened a bottle of Dunkerton's odd single variety ciders. Breakwell Seedling is an apple that comes from Monmouth (I know that 'cos it's on the bottle'. Digging a little deeper, it appears that the variety was propagated by a guy called (guess what) Breakwell, in Monmouthshire. It is a bittersharp variety - so there should be some aid going on. Something that would be interesting to those who think about such things is that it is an early variety. This is significant - most earlies tend towards poor storage/bletting - which means that it needs processing fairly quickly. The other thing that I would say is that most early varieties are pretty thin... especially when compared to later varieties.

So, having done that research I am not sure what to expect of it now. Surely Dunkerton's wouldn't release a cider that was below par...

It has a moderate sparkle and is fairly light golden in colour. However, the smell is actually rather rich - fruit and a bit of farmyard going on. It settles down well and I am ready to go.

The taste istelf is fairly fruity. Not huge on tannin and more sweet than I would expect from a medium dry (though not badly done by any means). It does have a pretty fruity flavour which dominates both acid and tannin. The acid is light and kind of sits in the background a touch too far for me.

The aftertaste is quite sweet still and moderate in length. At the end it is a little drying... the tannin must sneak up a little.

Overall, this is a really good, drinkable but not hugely challenging cider. I like it. No, I am not mellowing to SV ciders... just to good ones. As with all ciders, if all producers could make cider as well as Dunkerton's then the industry would be in safe hands!

A silver apple for this cider - perhaps the scoring is a little high, but I will stand by it.

Honeypot Farm Cider (GBBF)

Trudging back to Somerset for my 12th cider. Well, not before taking a 30 minute break (or something like that). The place is massive and really well spaced out - although is the day has progressed the halls are much busier now. Some have come with hats... a couple of days early for hat day, but I guess they get themselves more noticed this way:-)

It does say something about CAMRA priorities that there are so many beer/ale bars and only one cider bar - well two if you include the ever present (and I suspect sponsored to the hilt) Weston's bar. Even Bieres Sans Frontieres - the bar dedicated to foreign beers - is larger than the cider bar in footage. Don't get me wrong, I like beer too, though if this festival represents the general thinking of CAMRA then it is no surprise why fighting for cider is rather low on their list of priorities.

I tend to drink beer when the only cider option is my own or something riddled with strawberry juice (or such like)... it has been known to happen and at that time I would opt for beer. It's not as good as cider by a long way though. Different... not as refreshing and sometimes just plain odd. Anyway, I do dabble from time to time. Getting back to my wanderings around the GBBF, I settled for a hamburger with blue cheese  this time - nice, though a bit greasy and I am not sure whether it will soak up the cider or simply make everything taste of blue cheese!

Back to the cider!

Honeypot Farm have been making cider for some years now (although there web presence is every bit equal to many Somerset cider producers... non existent. Sadly the internet and its benefits have yet to convince some producers to reach out online. Some habits definitely die hard! Anyway, it is marked up as being tannic... which makes sense... and is presented to me as a deeply golden and quite clear cider. Yum (so far!)

It doesn't really smell of an awful lot. I could put this down to having drunk quite a lot, but it was over quite a long time so my nose cannot have given up! I guess it's on the taste then:-) There is quite a drying tannin in here - it is as I expected it to be and is quite pleasant. Have CAMRA got this wrong? It feels more of a dry cider/medium dry at best and not the medium it is described as.

The taste of this cider is really very good. It has a deep tannin that stretches the pallette and lasts with a funky tone to it. You know, this may be the best cider in the house tonight. Its very nice. I am getting some acid in the background too. This is where the 'but' creeps in. I am feeling that slightly sour petroleum taste in my mouth again. It really isn't to my taste and only seems to come from Somerset based producers. Don't get me wrong, I like this cider a lot, but it just takes the edge off a little.

The aftertaste is dominated by the petrol taste, which is sad.

I wouldn't say this is a quaffing cider - not a cider for the faint hearted either... a bit challenging and not that balanced. However, not being balanced is not always a bad thing; character is important and this has a good character (in general). In a world where everything seems to aim for generic or ubiquitous, this sticks two fingers up at that!

Sherston Cider Co, First Press Cider (GBBF)

I know the Great British Beer Festival reviews are taking a while to get through this year. I admit that I decided to do things properly this time and, if I was to spent the money on getting there etc., I spread the drinks over the course of the day. This cider was my eleventh of the day (and in 3rds that equates to nearly 4 pints in total...)

Whilst I am writing about this festival, it is only appropriate to recognise the efforts of the bar staff here. Not all are knowledgeable, but most are and I ought to make reference specifically to Dawn - from USA or Canada I am afraid I couldn't tell, but very enthusiastic and honest... a sterling job done!

For this cider I had intended on getting a look in at the Yardes cider. However, as this went off just as I approached the bar (as in off 'empty barrel' as opposed to off 'bad tasting'!)

So, off to Wiltshire this time. Sherston (or more properly, the Sherston Cider Co.) are found on the edge of the Cotswolds and appear to produce cider from apples grown on their own orchards. As with most small producers internet activity, the website doesn't give a whole lot more away than that - other than I recognise all the varieties they are using and therefore this should be a good cider!

It is a hazy golden liquid (I do realise that repetition is common in these reviews, but it is worth stating for anyone just dipping in). The smell is exactly as it should be, given the varieties that have gone into making it too. Actually, it is quite a strong aroma and there is a little acid in there too. Appetizing (well, I am desperate for a great cider!!)

The taste is all of its medium labelling. There is stacks of juice going into this cider too though, which is interesting. It is clearly well kept and fully matured. In reality this cider is made up of mostly bittersweet fruit and the acid really does play a background roll. But - the acid IS there, which works well. This cider really is a contender! There isn't tons of tannin, although this could be the effect of the sweetening. However, the fermented apples are really expressing themselves and, whilst it is a tad juicy (I suspect this is the sweetening) I am really picking hairs to find anything wrong!

The aftertaste is medium in length and delicious... bearing in mind it is a medium cider!

Well done Sherston. This cider is a real credit and deserves the silver apple with a great score of 85/100.

Springfield Cider, Wobblymunk Cider (GBBF)

I must have missed this off my initial passes by the cider bar - it was at the top of my list to try, being the Champion CAMRA Cider of 2013 n'all. And why shouldn't the best CAMRA have to offer get the Cider Pages treatment eh?! Thankfully it is described as a medium dry on the number chart of sweetness. I would have been massively disappointed if this one had been on the sweeter end of the scale.

Springfield are another of the Welsh producers represented here. Based in Monmouthshire - the Welsh 'Ciderland' (or is it just a continuation of the UK 'Ciderland' - I guess that depends on whether you are Welsh and a member of WCPS!) Anyway, they have been making cider for the last 15 years and this year it really paid off for them at the national CAMRA Cider and Perry Competition...

I guess my current thinking is that there are too many competitions and awards floating around for cider/perry producers these days. Many companies cite 'award winning' on their banners and in their marketing guff... to me, my concern is that this becomes worthless - although if you are someone like Olivers, Once Upon a Tree or Burrow Hill then the sheer volume of awards must say something! The CAMRA competition should be up there with the best of them - Bath and West and 3 Counties (note, personally I don't count those sponsored by magazines or claiming to be 'international' whilst pricing all but the largest producers out). However, it suffers from poor planning and structure and, whilst I am sure this is going to be a great cider, the problems present within the competition means that this is unlikely to be the same stuff that won at Reading earlier this year.

Oh well, something for APPLE to get round to if they are open to such things.

This cider comes to me as a fairly bright (clear) and golden cider. As with all the draught ciders here it is flat, although it has a really good smell to it. Ooh, it smells rich and fruity - a good one if the smell is anything to go by. It is curious how we tend to lead through the nose, isn't it, and I am really getting last autumn in this glass - fruit, weather, cut grass with a deep wood note in the nose.

The taste leads with a good fruity tannic body. This is a little drying although the sweetening (well done and understated) offsets this a lot. On the whole, this drink is all apple fruitiness and bittersweet undertones - there is not that much acid and certainly not enough to prevent this cider from being deep and rich. However, the acid does play a supporting role to an extent - this is really a good cider and I am starting to agree with CAMRA's judgement on it.

The aftertaste is long and satisfying. A real delight.

So, for this cider... think autumn, leaves turning brown, bonfires, wet grass, ripe apples and cuttings. What isn't to like about this cider? It has charisma - not stacks of it, but it is good and it is there. I like

A very strong silver apple with a score of 88/100.

Dunkerton's Court Royal Cider

Another interesting cider this time - and it was a close call as to which got the '300th' status. Not that it matters a whole lot of jelly beans to be honest. I have been looking forward to both but was determined to save them until after the Strongbow review (in case it went really badly:-)

I have also marked this review as Cider101. Court Royal is an apple that I haven't come across before - ever. It is also, by the looks of it, an apple that I am unlikely to come across. So in that regard it may be a bit of a pointless cider to include in my list of 'apple types'. However, as one never knows - it is in.

One note about the label. I love it! Dark and brooding, it rather gives it all away on the back with, "We offer this rare cider for your consideration." Very polite and very well taken too. I think Dunkerton's are a company that are really sure about how they present themselves... and it is nice that this company has so often backed up that style with first rate drinks too!

Court Royal apple is a sweet apple. This  means it should be low in both tannin and acid, but ought to be a naturally sweeter drink (assuming all the sugar doesn't ferment out). As a medium dry cider, I am hoping that this Dunkerton's is such an example. I can see, from a brielf search online, that it is regarded as both early and late harvesting. I am inclined to go with late as it is in a description from a nursery - but then you never know. Actually, looking at a search listing, perhaps it isn't so rare as I thought. However, I note on the back of the label for the cider it says that it crops irregularly. This could mean that it is biennial (crops one out of every two years) or that it is unreliable...

On with the review. This cider is rather light golden in colour and has a spritz about it - a light sparkle as it enters the glass that is quite persistent but low. It is bright, which I have come to expect from Dunkerton's. There is also a very interesting smell to it - I have smelled it before in a cider made from Le Brets (another 'sweet' classed apple). I am not expecting big tannin or acid from this - and this smell confirms it. I guess you could say that it is clean and a little one dimensional (aren't all SV ciders to a larger or lesser degree?). There is a faint fruitiness coming off it in the nose too.

Moving on to taste - Oh. Wow. This is a very light and delicate cider indeed, and Dunkerton's would seem to have really captured its character in here! I can see I am going to have to take my time with this cider. This is one of those drinks that you have to appreciate to get all of its sense. There are some faint tannins here, which funnily fit with everything else going on, but actually make it quite drying towards the end.

So, this cider is light and yet full bodies. The fruit is the foremost component - which is great - and the tannin plays second fiddle all the way; merely performing it's role and nothing more. There is very little acid if any I can sense. I have to say I disagree with the medium dry - it is a dry... well, at least at the end it is.

There is a really good, long aftertaste which again is all fruit. I am getting a touch of sweetness on the tongue though, it all but vanishes behind the fruit - but perhaps there is the medium dry bit:-)

I love this - it is an excellent cider and I shall be looking out for Court Royal in future! A score of 89/100 just sees it shy of a gold apple... which is a bit of a shame really - but a really good silver apple to Dunkerton's.

Ty Gwyn Medium Dry Cider

The Welsh have done pretty well this year for awards. Not that they are afraid to shout it from the roof-tops! Mind you, why not - just 'cos us English are more restrained - having half my family from Wales I can safely say that the Welsh like to wear their hearts on their sleeves more:-)

Taken from the bottle, Ty Gwyn simply means Whitehouse in Welsh. The cider is made at Whitehouse Farm in Monmouthshire - the county that is probably the heart of Welsh cider land. To be fair, Monmouthshire and Herefordshire must be fairly interchangeable. Seeing as Herefordshire is a mecca for growing cider apples, I suspect that a lot of fruit for Welsh ciders comes from there - and visa versa could well be true. After all, its not where the fruit comes from that matters - it's what you do with it (and as someone who is not particularly patriotic, its the quality that counts - not how you pronounce it!)

This particular cider is actually a single variety. Vilberie is a late bittersweet apple ripening in November, which makes it one of the last varieties to be pressed. I suspect this should make it quite astringent and full bodied. However, it isn't an apple that I have used or come across before - hence chucking the review into Cider101 as well (for future reference:-)

It is a mid golden colour, polished and bright. I hope they haven't stripped out too much flavour for that look. It is also a still cider (with a small 'pfss' on opening). The smell is very fruity - rhubarb and strawberries and maybe even banana. It is quite distinctive. I cannot tell if there is much tannin from the smell, but I would say it's going to be full bodied.

It is actually quite a drying taste - especially as it is meant to be a medium dry. I can taste a bit of sweetness to it though - so for sure Vilberie is big on tannin. I am getting quite a bit of acid too - which is odd for a bitter sweet. It balances the tannin a touch - between the sweet, tannin and acid this makes for a really nice cider... no wonder they don't pitch it as a single variety.

Whether this has been mucked about with is a mute point (I will look out for another Vilberie cider to compare it with). It is really rather moreish. The apple taste is full and rounded, with tannin and acid running underneath it. The aftertaste is medium to long and is very good. I like!

A good silver apple with 86/100. If Vilberie is really this good I will be chasing it down this next season!