Weighing in at a (what I believe to be) perfect 6.5% is the next Herefordshire cider for me to try, from another artisan producer, Newton Court Cidery.
Cidery. I have a conversation last night with some friends who had visited some French 'cideries' and who wanted to know if it was the same in the UK. "No", I said. Well, I am a fool. Here is the term, alive and kicking. Is it a proper word in English though? Oh, who cares! Yes, I like to think it is (although it does sound a little odd!)
I am a little surprised to find an In bottle fermented cider in a standard beer/cider bottle. I guess the pressure must have been alleviated somehow or it will definitely have popped by now. And at 6.5% its gone through most of its fermentation (i.e. the sugar has pretty much all turned to alcohol).
I will have to look more into this - I thought that in bottle fermentation created a more fizzy, champagne style cider... but then it could just be more like bottle conditioning, where a cider is allowed to finish its fermentation in the bottle.
It certainly pours fizzy, and is a mellow golden colour with a nice tangy bittersweet cider smell to it. It is hazy too, which just shouts 'natural' to me!
To taste, it is a fairly straightforward west country/Herefordshire cider... although to put that into its perspective, its a really good west country cider. It feels a little sweeter than medium dry though - it must be because the tannins are very understated and there is a good measure of acid to balance things out.
Balanced is a word that I would use about this one. The sweetness and tannins linger together through a fairly long aftertaste. Mind you, I didn't leave it for too long before my next gulp!!!
Overall, I really like this cider. Whilst its competing with some of the best cider in the country, being in Herefordshire, it holds its own and deserves its silver apple with a score of 86/100
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