2020 Julien Frémont Cidre Silex
REGION: Normandy, FR
SIZE: 750ml / ABV: 6%
"Julien Frémont makes two special ciders from different terroirs. This one (Silex) is made from apples picked from trees that grow in flint (silex in French) soils on the higher slopes above the house where the ground is littered with flint”cailloux” (small rocks). Here his cows graze contentedly on the grass that grows between the trees and directly provide the manure to keep the soil fertile and vibrant.
The cider reflects the minerality of the soils – it is a true “cider of terroir” because there are no additions whatsoever. Once the apples have spent some time in the attic to concentrate the flavours, they are crushed and the juice is transferred to large vats to ferment spontaneously. We believe that it is the best version of this cider he has ever made! This year it is particularly delicious due to the weather during the growing season. We are very impressed with it – it will be great to have it around this spring and summer!" - Living Wines
Julien Frémont is a cider and Calvados maker from Normandy who makes cider the same way that his family has made it since the early 1700s – and using the same beautiful wooden press that the family has owned since that time. The only differences between the old way and Julien’s way is that he prefers dry cider and the traditional approach was to make sweet cider in this region. Julien tends his orchard using organic and biodynamic principles. Cows graze between the trees to keep the ground cover healthy.
After he hand-harvests the apples they are carried to the loft in the large, ancient building that dominates the farm using a ‘home grown’ pulley system of little buckets that carry them upwards. Here he ‘cures’ them for at least a month and sometimes for many months so that the flavours concentrate as the apples dry out. This dramatically reduces the juice yield when the apples are finally pressed but significantly improves the flavour of the cider. We find his ciders immensely satisfying and beautifully crafted and he uses no additions. No sulphites are added at any time. There are also some oxidative notes to his cider as the wooden barrels he uses are over 100 years old. This adds even more complexity to the finished product.