Cidre Brut

Cidre Brut is the dry, savoury face of apple: pour it cool and it comes up hazy straw-to-amber gold with a soft cushion of fine bubbles and a thin foam collar. The nose is all orchard — fresh-cut and baked apple, a little pear and orchard fruit, a floral lift and, in the traditional keeved farmhouse style, a gentle farmyard or hay-like funk from wild yeast. On the palate it is brisk and dry, driven by clean apple acidity, threaded with a soft, drying tannin from the bittersweet cider fruit that gives it grip and a savoury depth no dessert-apple cider has, and finished clean, faintly bitter and refreshing. The fine natural sparkle carries the aromas and scrubs the palate, which is why it slices so well through buttery galettes, creamy Norman cheese and fatty pork. Where a sweet Doux is soft and juicy, Brut is taut and grown-up — closer to a light sparkling wine than to a soft drink.