Review of Domaine de la Minotiere’s Cidre Fermier Bio Brut.  It is my first time trying this, but I have had the Doux version of this cider, plus many other French ciders, such as these.

>>This is a review of a sample bottle provided to Cider Says by Winesellers, Ltd.  Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received it for free.  The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my cider review cue.  I love free stuff, especially cider!  Want your cider or cider-related product reviewed here?  Contact me.<<

Cider:  Cidre Fermier Bio Brut 2015
Cidery:  Domaine de la Minotiere
Cidery Location:  Normandy, France
ABV:  5.0%
How Supplied:  750ml corked & caged bottle
Style:  Norman French cidre, Organic, Brut (which means dry)

 

Availability:  Semi wide release in the U.S. through Winesellers, Ltd.  Their cider portfolio also includes Manoir de Grandouet, Le Brun, & Cidrerie Daufresne from France, Dunkertons from England, and Sidra Asturiana Mayador from Spain.

Cider Description:  This organic farmhouse-style cider has a crisp, fresh, apple bouquet, with mix of citrus peel and musty floral notes, and fruity aromas of apricot and citrus fruits. A brisk, refined finish that lingers on the palate.

Cidery Description:  Domaine de la Minotiere is a small 15-hectare single domaine of cidre orchards cultivated under 100% organic certification. The specialty is traditional farmhouse cidre produced both in a dry (Brut) and sweet (Doux) style. The Domaine de la Minotiere owns a long tradition and elaboration of farmhouse cider coming from the fruit of its orchards, in a place called the “Golden Triangle” – known to be the best area to produce cider.

Price:  n/a (retails for ~ $12)
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  the importer contacted me

First Impression:  Light orange amber hue.  High carbonation and moderate foam.  Smells mild, of French cidre from bittersweet apples, with a hint of funk.

Tasting Notes:  On the drier side of semi-dry.  Light bodied with a frothy texture.  Low tartness, acidity, and tannins.  Hints of bitterness and funk.  No sourness.  Notes of apple pomace and juice, yeast, green apple, orange, and butterscotch.  Moderate length finish.  Moderate to high apple flavor and sessionability.  Low to moderate flavor intensity.  Moderate complexity.

My Opinion:  Great!  However, I preferred the Doux version of this cider, which likely due to the additional sweetness, was more flavorful.  This was surprisingly dry for a Brut, but their Doux was also drier than I expected.  Its a good option for folks who think most French cidres are too sweet.  It also had a bit more light fruitiness than richness, and was much lower in funk than their Doux version.  This did however have an extra 2% ABV over their Doux version,

Most Similar to:  Domaine de la Minotiere Cidre Fermier Bio Doux, Manoir de Grandouet Cidre Fermier Brut, and L’Hermitiére Cidre Brut (very much so, although this is drier than all three of those), Manoir De Montreuil Cambremer, and Christian Drouin Pays d’Auge

Closing Notes:  Its pretty cool that that both the Doux and Brut versions of this are Organic, which you don’t see much in cider, especially at this price point!

Have you tried French cidre?  What did you think?