Victor Gontier 2003 Vieille Reserve

Victor Gontier 2003 Vieille Reserve 

Brandy: Calvados

From: Domfrontais

House: Victor Gontier

Style: Single distillery, single vintage

Colour: Golden

ABV: 40%

N: Honey, raisins, apples, pears, hints of liquorice. 

M: Light body, loose, cool, slightly tingly. 

T: Sweet. Raisins, pears, hay, dried apples, liquorice, blackcurrant. 

F: Long. Bittersweet, black tea, saffron, hay, pears. 

Comments:

I like Domfrontais Calvados, as I really enjoy the way the apple and pear notes offset each other and bring some complexity. This 2003 vintage expression has way more than that, lots of raisins (in fact it’s rather cognac like) and liquorice. I love the complexity. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Avallen Calvados

Avallen Calvados

Brandy: Calvados

From: AOC Calvados

House: Domaine du Coquerel, bottled by Avallen

Style: Single distillery 

Colour: Bright gold

ABV: 40%

N: Apples, ink, sea salt, iron filings, fresh baked bread, vanilla. 

M: Medium body, astringent, cool, tingly. 

T: Bitter salty. Vanilla, apples, sea salt, apricots, white grapes, hints of sandalwood. 

F: Short. Walnut skins, black tea, apricots, sea salt. 

Comments:

Independently bottled brandy is a rarity. Avallen is a company, who, having sourced Calvados from Domaine du Coquerel, a small distillery in Normandy, have bottled it under their own brand. It’s great - not too sweet, but with plenty of fruit and tannic notes. Highly enjoyable and at a good price too. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Michel Huard Vieux Calvados

Michel Huard Vieux Calvados

Brandy: Calvados

From: AOC Calvados

House: Michel Huard

Style: Single distillery

Colour: Dark gold, tinge of green 

ABV: 40%

N: Butterscotch, toffee, baked apples, fresh baked bread, sea salt, hints of smoke. 

M: Heavy body, thickens, mouth coating, oily. 

T: Sweet sour. Honey, toffee, baked apples, fresh baked bread, vanilla, hints of fig jam. 

F: Long. Menthol, fig jam, fresh baked bread, honey. 

Comments:

Excellent Calvados. I really enjoyed this, silky, heavy, pleasant on on the tongue, with matching complexity in terms of layers of flavour. This is almost sherried, with lots of cooked fruit and honey. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Adrien Camut 6yo

 Adrien Camut 6yo

Brandy: Calvados

From: Pays d’Auge

House: Adrien Camut

Style: Single distillery 

Colour: Amber

ABV: 41%

N: Apples, butterscotch, raisins, orange blossom, hints of chocolate. 

M: Medium body, thickens, syrupy, tingly. 

T: Bitter. Butterscotch, pears, chocolate, raisins, apples, cloves, honey. 

F: Medium. Black tea, coffee, honey, apples. 

Comments:

This little Calvados from Adrien Camut isn’t like its older siblings. Those were floral, quite spirit forward, with some woody, almost dusty notes. This one is a lot younger, less than a third of their ages, and is much heavier. 

There’s a whisper of orange blossom on the nose, but that’s probably the only point of commonality. Instead there are bitter chocolate and coffee notes. Although the mouth feel isn’t heavy, it’s much less subtle than the older ones, with bold flavours. 

Verdict:

I like this. 

Christian Drouin VSOP

 Christian Drouin VSOP

Brandy: Calvados

From: Pays d’Auge

Style: Single distillery

House: Christian Drouin

Colour: Yellow gold

ABV: 40%

N: malted grains, black pepper, apples, honey, hints of banana.

M: heavy body, thickens, slippery, slightly tingly. 

T: bitter sweet. Apples, black pepper, vanilla, barley rusk, hints of fresh baked bread, hints of banana  

F: short. Vanilla, banana, pears, fresh baked bread. 

Comments:

Quite a complex calvados, with cereally notes, some spice and some quite un-calvados like bananas. Quite enjoyable, there’s some aged spirit in this if I’m any judge (of course, there’s a chance that I’m not). 

Verdict:

I like this. 

Pere Magloire XO Calvados

Pere Magloire XO Calvados

Brandy: Calvados
From: Pays d'Auge
Style: Single distillery
House: Pere Magloire
Colour: Amber copper
ABV: 40%

N: baked apples, cinnamon, honey, blackcurrant cordial, hints of butter.

M: Medium body, loosens, slippery, turns airy.

T: Sweet. Cinnamon, baked apples, lemon zest, lime zest, butterscotch.

F: Long. Lemon zest, butterscotch, cinnamon, raisins.

Comments:

Another Pays d'Auge house, a region that seems to deliver bold spirits, lots of flavour, with intense apple notes. There's a lot of other stuff besides apple too, buttery dairy notes, some spice, and some really pleasant blackcurrant.

Unlike whisky, there's a real dearth of material available online about different kinds of brandies. There's quite a bit on cognac, a fair bit on armagnac, not a lot on calvados, and precious little on all the other categories of brandies that I've tasted and reviewed. In my own little way I hope to add to the knowledge available online for these great drinks.

Verdict:

I like this.

Roger Groult Reserve

Roger Groult Reserve

Brandy: Calvados
From: Pays d'Auge
House: Roger Groult
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Pale green gold
ABV: 40%

N: Green apples, raisins, cloves, camphor, peaches, fresh cut grass.

M: Light body, warm, volatile, tingly.

T: Bitter. Cloves, cinnamon, camphor, pomegranate molasses, vanilla, thyme.

F: Short. Camphor, cocoa nibs, green apples, pomegranate molasses.

Comments:

I've recorded some thoughts on a couple of expressions in the premium end of the Roger Groult range, and it's time to have a taste of the entry level expression. This is probably less than 3 years old. It smells fantastic, rich, herbal and complex. There's very malic green apples, some sweet peaches, and so many vegetal, herbal notes.

On the tongue however, the sweet notes largely disappear, and the herbal notes take over. It's spicy and fragrant though, with a slightly harsh under-note of camphor, very reminiscent of Chinese herbal medicine. The apples and other fruity notes reappear on the finish, alongside bitter cocoa.

So, for Roger Groult at least, the premium expressions hold up by maintaining the beautiful intense notes on the nose through to the tongue. For this brandy, the herbal, bitter notes take over. It's not unpleasant though, and I enjoyed the chance to taste a different sort of calvados.

Verdict:

I like this.

Dupont 20yo

Dupont 20yo

Brandy: Calvados
From: Pays d'Auge
House: Dupont
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber
ABV: 42%

N: dried apples, peaches, strawberry jam, honey, shortcrust pastry, hints of cloves.

M: Light body, loose, cool, slightly astringent.

T: Bitter sweet. Dark chocolate, strawberry jam, cloves, raisins, hints of coffee.

F: Long. Peaches, dried apples, shortcrust pastry, coffee, raisins.

Comments:

Wow. This is apple pie Calvados, mimicking the flavour profile almost perfectly - apples, cloves, pastry. Of course, there's plenty of other stuff in here too, raisins, chocolate, coffee, and some sort of red fruit jam, mostly strawberry.

I think I'm beginning to be able to distinguish between Calvados houses. I've had a few well-aged expressions, and I shall gravitate towards the younger ones for a little while now. Well-aged brown spirits tend to deepen and intensify in flavour, and it will be interesting to see what the younger ones are like.

Verdict:

I like this.

Roger Groult 12yo

Roger Groult 12yo

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

N: Candied oranges, apple juice, raisins, fruitcake, aluminium foil, hints of fresh baked bread.

M: Light body, airy, cool, evaporates quickly.

T: Sweet sour. Candied oranges, nutmeg, fresh baked bread, apple juice, hints of cinnamon, hints of cocoa nibs.

F: Medium. Cocoa nibs, apple juice, nutmeg, hints of black tea.

Comments:

All apple Calvados, young-ish. It's got less of that dried apple flavour, here it's milder, like apple juice. This brandy is spicy, cinnamon, nutmeg, and candied oranges. There's a spiky bitter flavour on the edge of the tongue, and in the finish as well, I interpret this as cocoa nibs, and maybe some tannins too.

I think I'm starting to find out what I like about Calvados. Whilst the apple and pear base flavours and lovely, and enjoyable, I much prefer the more complex spirits with more layers underneath the fruit. This one is a good case in point - there's plenty of fruit of course, candied oranges and raisins are particularly prominent next to the apples - but there's also a layer of bitter spice underneath that, a slightly harsh sharp bitterness that reminds me of biting into unsweetened cocoa nibs. Very interesting indeed.

Verdict:

I like this.

Didier Lemorton Rarete

Didier Lemorton Rarete

Brandy: Calvados
From: Domfrontais
House: Didier Lemorton
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Walnut
ABV: 40%

N: Pear drops, cinnamon, dried apples, lime zest, acacia honey, hints of jasmine.

M: Medium body, warm, slippery, airy.

T: Bitter sour. Cinnamon, dried apples, dried pears, jasmine, lime juice, leather, hints of linseed oil.

F: Medium. Dried apples, dried pears, linseed oil, jasmine, hints of fresh baked bread.

Comments:

One of the very best expressions from this distillery, the spirit is a blend of very old eaux-de-vie, some of which are reportedly more than 100 years old. The colour is certainly impressive, dark walnut with hints of bronze highlights. The nose is classic Calvados, apples and pears, in this case mostly dried. On the tongue, I was surprised - it's not sweet at all, but bitter and tart, highly complex, with a dry, slightly dusty set of fruity flavours. There's even some leather, and an acrid note of linseed oil. It's not at all unpleasant, it's unusual, and it's not like other Calvadoses.

What is it with old spirits? They get more and more complex, picking up more of the wood they are resting in, losing some of the notes from their spirit base. There's a sweet spot where they're super complex and layered, lots of interesting flavours, which can only be unlocked by drinking slowly. Then after an even longer while, they pick up notes of leather, oil and dust, dried fruit and rancio, and start to taste like other old spirits. I've found this with whisky, armagnac, cognac and now Calvados. The age at which a spirit reaches this stage varies though, certainly you need something distilled more than 50 years ago, and hopefully aged in wood for most of that time.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

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.

Adrien Camut Reserve de Semainville

Adrien Camut Reserve de Semainville

Brandy: Calvados
From: Pays d'Auge
House: Adrien Camut
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Amber brown
ABV: 40%

N: Pear drops, dried apples, honey, chantilly cream, orange blossom, hints of leather, hints of prunes.

M: Heavy body, tingly, oily, astringent

T: Sweet. Dried apples, jasmine, honey, green tea, leather, cedar, hints of smoke

F: Long. Jasmine, dried apples, cedar, vanilla.

Comments:

I couldn't leave the Calvados alone. After the last couple of tasting notes, I was very intrigued, so I went back and tried another. This time I chose an Adrien Camut, a relatively famous producer that even this novice has heard of, a nice old one, blended from eaux-de-vie of between 20 and 25 years of age.

The legs of this spirit were huge and prominent, and the tasting did not disappoint. There's a depth of flavour, not really intensity, but a feeling of many layers to this spirit. Like peeling an onion, you get the impression that there's more to find, and it rewards sipping slowly and nosing the glass from a few different angles. There's apples of course, mostly dried now, but also zingy pear drops, floral notes such as orange blossom, and plenty of woody notes as well.

I wonder, what would cask strength Calvados taste like? The complexity here certainly would be more obvious at a higher ABV, and that might help improve the clarity of the flavours. Cursory research online suggests however that most Calvados is bottled around 40% and higher strength bottlings are few and far between.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Calvados Domfrontais Pacory 20yo

Calvados Domfrontais Pacory 20yo

Brandy: Calvados
From: Domfrontais
House: Pacory
Style: Single distillery
Colour: Polished oak
ABV: 40%

N: Red grapes, dried pears, pear drops, tinned peaches, sandalwood, hints of linseed oil.

M: Light body, loose, tingly, mouth coating.

T: Sweet. Pear drops, apple sauce, oak, vanilla sponge, lemon curd, hints of thyme, hints of bacon.

F: Short. Vanilla sponge, apple sauce, black tea, lemon curd, hints of white wine.

Comments:

This is calvados from Domfrontais, which means that it has pears as well as apples. This one is around 70% pear, 30% apple. The flavours are more intense, less soft. Despite the weak strength (compared to what I usually drink, anyway), the legs are prominent, and thick. That augurs well for the taste in my experience.

Yes, you can taste both pear and apple, and the pear flavours are surprisingly deep and layered. There's pear drops, dried pears, maybe some fresh Comice pear too, although that's fleeting and faint. There's also something oily, even meaty, and heaps of spice as well. This is very sweet stuff. The finish doesn't let up in terms of intensity, although it fades to astringent bitterness quite quickly.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Roger Groult Venerable

Roger Groult Venerable

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

N: dried apples, white grapes, cinnamon, toffee, chocolate, hints of fresh butter.

M: Light body, round, cool, slightly tingly.

T: Sweet salty. Cinnamon, nutmeg, fresh butter, milk toffee, bubble gum, hints of milk chocolate, hints of coffee.

F: Long. Kiwi fruit, milk toffee, dried apples, coffee

Comments:

So, we finally get to tasting Calvados. It's not a spirit that I've had a lot of experience with, but I've always enjoyed what I've tasted. Whisky tastes of grain, but that's normally buried under some layers of other flavours. Cognac tastes of raisins, mostly, whilst armagnac tastes of prunes, mostly. Calvados however, always tastes of apples, true to the original fruit.

For the first Calvados on Adventures in Brandy, I thought I would go for something fairly old. This one is more than 18 years old, and is aged in older casks. That shows of course - not much vanilla or tannins, instead there's heaps of fruit, making the flavour profile bright, and young. There's something salty here, think fresh Charentes butter, only married to spices, and something slightly bitter (yet fragrant) in the finish.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, my only niggle was the spirit's thin body. It sloshes around the mouth very well, but slips down quickly. The intensity fades, but the finish drags on and on. Very nice indeed.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.