Adrien Camut 18yo Privilege

Adrien Camut 18yo Privilege

Brandy: Calvados
From: Pays d'Auge
House: Adrien Camut
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Copper
ABV: 41%

N: honey, orange blossom, dried apples, peach cobbler, damson jam, hints of lemon zest.

M: light body, slippery, loose, turns watery.

T: Bitter sweet. Honey, cinnamon, dried apples, oak staves, damson jam, hints of lemon zest.

F: Short. Oak staves, orange blossom, cinnamon, hints of lemon zest.

Comments:

Well now, this one is not too much like its older sibling. There is but the merest hint of smoke, and there are huge jammy notes spread over old oak wood. The dried apples are there, although I sort of associate that with old Calvados in general rather than this house in particular. The only other points of commonality are the orange blossom and lemon zest.

That doesn't mean that it isn't good, in fact it's lovely and smooth. Plenty of floral and woody notes spar with the fruit, making for a style of Calvados I like - not too sweet, and multi-layered.

Cursory research on the internet suggests that this house uses old barrels exclusively, rather than new oak, with an average barrel age of near 50 years. Interestingly, the oak notes do taste old, gentle, hardly imparting any vanillin. There's also a dusty flavour to the oak, almost gritty, if gritty were a taste rather than a texture. Maybe that last bit sounds like BS - but well, all tasting notes are personal.

Verdict:

I like this.