Having got those GBBF reviews out of the way, its back to the serious business of reviewing ciders in bottle. Mind you, what is the more natural state for cider? You get the full draught experience at a festival and, although you could say that this is a one off - something that is the sum of the venue, people and cider - you could argue that the cider is preserved better in a bottle. For these reviews, what I am saying about a cider ought to translate into what you might experience by drinking the same cider (well, you may not agree with my conclusions:-) However, cider is a living thing that changes, matures and develops. This should be celebrated too.
Ultimately, there are so many components to a great cider - and so many great ciders that are different from each other I wonder why producers think they need to cover them in Strawberries... or some such muck:-)
What was I talking about??? Oh yeah, returning to the bottles I find myself in front of another traditionally made Herefordshire cider produced by a farming family. Given the last one was so good, I figured it might make a nice comparison.
This cider has a deep colour about it, with a tiny bity of an orange glow to it... those Yarlie's are so popular eh! It is clear... on the brightish side of things but I could be persuaded that this was done by racking alone. However, the smell is rich and bittersweet. I suspect this is going to be a fairly standard Herefordshire style cider.
Well, there is nothing 'fairly standard' about this. It should real high quality Herefordshire cider. Except I think its more Somerset than Herefordshire as there is little acid at all (I know I mistook the last one I reviewed, but this is a definite this time!). Now, for those who think I am talking nonsense about 'Herefordshire' and 'Somerset', they aren't the same (mostly). While some 'break the rules' (see above), often different apple types and varieties are used. Its the same with other counties - Devon, Dorset and other counties have a different terroir and recipe for their cider.
This is a lovely, mellow cider. The tannins are definitely present, but they are mild and forgiving. This means that it's not an especially challenging cider but there is a load of fruity taste to it. Well recommended for this alone! The sweetening again is gentle. Its as if these farmer/producers don't really want to sweeten their ciders, although I have to say that the sensitive way it has been done is astounding.
The aftertaste is pretty short, which is a little odd. Maybe its because its a gentle cider in every way. There are some lovely tastes going on and I am not surprised that my scoring gives it a silver apple with 87/100.
No comments:
Post a Comment