Perry's are doing rather well on here at the moment. No, its not favourtism, its just that their cider are really very good. Having said that, the blends are winning against the single varieties... and rightly so (as I have so often said, blends are best when it comes to apples).
So we have another single variety Perry's cider to try this evening. Somerset Redstreak is a mild bittersweet apple. This means it should have gentle (not overbearing) tannin with little acidity and a fruity taste... a bit like it says on the bottle, "light and fruity medium cider"... Forget the medium bit - that has got nothing to do with the Redstreak. Remember and repeat - all ciders ferment to dry naturally unless back sweetened of halted in the process. And if this cider was halted in the process (e.g. by keeving), then I would be paying a lot more for a bottle of this cider and it would come in a champagne bottle! Note to self - stop banging on about sweetness!
Its a lovely golden colour, and does have a particular smell that you don't get with blends. After all, ciders are only a sum of their parts, and the Redstreak must have a distinct flavour and smell about it. The carbonation is low, so there are few bubbles to contend with too. Looking good so far.
And the flavour is delicious. I can tell it is nearly a proper SV cider, although there is far too much acid in here for the Redstreak to be on its own. Whether this is another sharp to help out, or an adjustment of acid I have no idea. And lets not be too heavy on Perry's for this. Its one of the reasons I am not particularly convinced by single variety cider... so many are (or have to be) adjusted.
The taste is fruity and gentle with a good dose of tannin, albeit understated and mild. The Redstreak is a very good cider apple, and this is a good demonstration of single variety cider.
The aftertaste is fruity and nice. And quite long too.
Am I convinced about single varieties yet? No. I think they need playing with to get them right. Its not that playing with cider is necessarily bad, just that its not strictly an SV then is it?
Another bronze apple for Perry's with 78/100.
Lucky me:) I've got a thing for hunting down ciders - this is another gem I found in Edinburgh! I bought it in a pub (won't say which, but you'll find it on the Royal Mile;)) in a bottle, just to take it home. Was a little expensive (4 quid, but that's a pub price), but what the hell. And I don't regret it. This is the first Perry's cider I tried, and I must say that it is lovely. Some oak/vanilla/whisky taste to it, good amount of tannins, strong taste of alcohol - warm in belly:) Didn't noticed the acid though. I guess that's the fun part - everyone tastes something a wee bit different:) Or it's just the cider that should be different every year anyway:)
ReplyDeleteWhen I say 'far too much acid' - I think what I meant was that, for the type of apple, there shouldn't really be any.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I can fully recommend the Perry's ciders - I just hope they don't go the way of Thatchers and Sheppy's with juice content!
That would be nasty... What I do hope for is to see Perry's cider on the supermarket shelves without going into the "commercial" zone.
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