Longueville Cidre de recoltant

A full juice French cider from Sainsbury's. Yup, it says so on the front label - on the back it says it isn't made from concentrate. It even has the Idication Geographique symbol on the back... and that is usually a good indication that its what it says it is.

I think that 'Cidre de recoltant' means 'Normandy varietal cider'... well, at least thats what is says on the bottle. It is made from French cider apple variety, Gros OEillet. Actually, 90% is claimed on the bottle.

I recently read the CAMRA book, Cider. A great source of general cidery information. Under the French section, the writer suggested that when in France, the 'Indication' was a good yardstick to choose a cider. As with Henney's, this leaves me feeling sad that a few dedicated producers can sell a decent, full juice product to the supermarkets whilst the majority are safe, diluted ciders. Oh well.

I think that 'Cidre de recoltant' means 'Normandy varietal cider'... well, at least thats what is says on the bottle. It is made from French cider apple variety, Gros OEillet. Actually, 90% is claimed on the bottle.

At 4.5%, this is a cider that is typically French, where ciders are stopped rather than being allowed to ferment out to a dry cider and then back sweetened if necessary. This produces a sweeter, weaker drink that is refreshing and, generally, naturally sparkling.
On pouring, this cider producesa gentle fizz and smells of baked apples. It is fairly watery to taste, but nice and aromatic with a gentle flavour. The acid is pretty light too and compete well against the low tannin notes.

On the whole, it is fairly light and watery - but drinkable though. I can imagine it would be a lovely drink on a warm evening in the summer, where you want something that isn't too strong or overpowering.

A score of 61/100.