2020 Julien Frémont Cidre Fermier

REGION: Normandy, FR
SIZE: 750ml / ABV: 5.9%

"This is an extraordinary entry into the Frémont range of cuvées. Julien has become more and more attracted to the ancient methods used by his family for producing ciders and is slowly returning to those methods. Unlike many of the cider producers who display the Pays d’Auge appellation of their labels, Julien deliberately sits outside the appellation because it requires the cider to be semi-sweet, and he likes his cider to be drier than required by the appellation authorities. He also does not use systemic sprays, instead opting for organic and biodynamic farming as well as natural fermentation of the juice rather than adding foreign yeasts.

In the case of the Fermier he picks the apples by hand making many passes through the orchard to ensure that the apples are in the exact stage of ripeness that he requires. He then stores the apples in the attic (see the photo above of the pulley system he still uses) for an incredible 2 months to dry the apples out and concentrate the flavours. It also significantly reduces the yield as much of the juice evaporates during this process. However the process has resulted in a cider of incredible length and concentrated flavours. It also matches with a wide range of foods." - 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.