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.

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.

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.