Le Brun Brut

June 6, 2018June 2, 2018 cidersays Le Brun, review cider, cider review, cider tasting, France, french cider, French cidre, hard cider, Le Brun, tasting notes

Review of Le Brun’s Brut. This is my first time trying this Brittany French cidre, although I have had their Organic Cidre and Poire (perry). These three varieties are the only ones offered in the U.S., although in France (and Europe probably) there are probably more.

Cider: Brut
Cidery: Le Brun
Cidery Location: Brittany France
ABV: 5.5%
How Supplied: 375ml (and 750ml) bottles
Style: French cidre

Availability: semi wide release, imported by Winesellers, Ltd.

Cider Description: Aromas of sweet, ripe apples dominate the nose. The sweetness is nicely balanced by moderate acidity and light tannins drying it out on the finish with a beautiful woody note. A crisp, well balanced and an interesting cider. A cider with real depth and character.

Cidery Description: Le Brun Cidres have been produced in Brittany, France since 1955. Cidres are made using the traditional method of natural fermentation of pure pressed juices from handpicked apples.

See here for more info.

Price: $5
Where Bought: Schilling Cider House
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing. It was the first time I had seen these half bottles, which at 1/2 the price are a great deal.

First Impression: Medium hazy orange hue. High carbonation with foam. Smells of bittersweet apples and funk.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry. Light bodied. Moderate tartness and acidity. Low funk, bitterness, and tannins. Notes of bittersweet apples, juice, & pomace and orange with some earthiness. Moderate length finish. Moderate apple flavor, sessionability, flavor intensity, and complexity.

My Opinion: I didn’t personally like this at all due to the sourness, which is my number one disliked quality in a cider (for some reason it just hits my taste buds all wrong and that is all I can taste). I was surprised by the sourness and funk, as although this is noted as being wild fermented, Brittany cidres usually remain clean (unlike most Normandy cidres), and the other two selections I’ve tried from the cidery were clean.

Most Similar to: Herout AOC Cotentin Extra-Brut

Closing Notes: I much prefer their Organic Cidre, which is sweeter and fairly clean (only a bit of funk, which I actually like).

Have you tried French cidre? What did you think?

Le Brun Poire

October 25, 2017October 21, 2017 cidersays Le Brun, review cider, cider review, cider tasting, France, French, hard cider, Le Brun, perry, Poire, tasting notes

Review of Le Brun Poire, a French perry. It is my first time trying this, but I have had Le Brun’s Brut and Organic cidres (and several other poires).

>>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: Poire
Cidery: Le Brun
Cidery Location: Brittany France
ABV: 4.0%
How Supplied: 750ml corked & caged bottles
Style: Breton French poire (perry)

Availability: Semi wide release in the U.S. through Winesellers, Ltd (new to their portfolio as of October 2017). Their cider portfolio also includes Manoir de Grandouet, Domaine de la Minotiere, & Cidrerie Daufresne from France, Dunkertons from England, and Sidra Asturiana Mayador from Spain.

Description: LeBrun Cidres have been produced in Brittany, France since 1955. Cidres are made using the traditional method of natural fermentation of pure pressed juices from handpicked pears. It all starts with the fruit. The cidery selects superior quality pears.

The orchards are carefully looked after until maturation of the fruits. The pears are picked by hand in order to prevent any damage. Preparing the fruit before cider making is always a process. The pears are collected and aged in special wooden cases for about 3 weeks in order to enable the fruit to slightly dehydrate and concentrate its aromas. The pears are then ready to be mashed. Once this is done, the result (pulp plus juice) is left to rest in a tank. This helps balance the taste profile of the future perry by sweetening possible harsh overtones. The pulp/juice is pressed again to get pure juice.

Price: n/a (retails for ~ $10)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: the importer/distributor contacted me

First Impression: Dark straw yellow hue. Low carbonation. Smells of candied dried pear and lemon.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry. Light bodied. Moderate tartness and acidity. No bitterness, sourness, or funk. A hint of tannins. Notes of dried pear, candied pear, lemongrass, green apple, and honey. Moderate length finish with lingering lemon. Moderate pear flavor, complexity, and flavor intensity. High sessionability.

My Opinion: Great! I was surprised with the dryness, lightness, and sharpness, as I was expecting something that was sweeter, fuller bodied, and lower acidity, like the others I’ve tried. Perries are usually on the sweeter end as pear juice has unfermentable sugars (sorbitol). I liked it however, especially the complexity. This would be especially nice in summer, at only 4% ABV (and its really affordable too).

Most Similar to: Not anything I’ve tried. The other poires I can remember trying were semi-sweet, such as from Christian Drouin, Dan Armor (the sweetest of these), Domaine Pacory, and Eric Bordelet (the driest of these).

Closing Notes: This is a great addition to Le Brun’s U.S. lineup, which already has “Brut” and “Organic” varieties of cider. Winesellers also offers a French perry / poire from Daufresne, which I will be trying soon.

Have you tried Poire? What did you think?

Le Brun Organic Cidre

August 24, 2016September 10, 2017 cidersays Le Brun, review cider, cider review, cider tasting, cidre, France, French, hard cider, Le Brun, organic, tasting notes

Review of Le Brun Organic Cidre. I’ve tried this previously on tap (the only cider I’ve tried from Le Brun), but wanted to give a bottle a go.

Cider: Organic Cidre
Cidery: Le Brun
Cidery Location: Plovan in the Brittany region of France
ABV: 4.0%
How Supplied: 750ml corked & caged champagne bottle
Style: Brittany French cidre, organic, secondary fermented

Availability: semi wide release (imported by Winesellers Ltd., Niles IL)

Cider Description: This cider presents lightly sweet, fruit and then develops to be more dry as the taste goes on. Tannins feel fairly high, acidity is moderate and a fairly bitter/sharp to end, with a mild hint of wood in the aftertaste. This cider has a juicy feel to it, but also has depth and character.

Apple Varieties: Kermerrien, Marie Ménard, Douce Moên, Peau de Chien, Douce Coëtligné

Cidery Description: Le Brun Cidres have been produced in Brittany, France since 1955. our cidres are made using the traditional method of natural fermentation of pure pressed juices from handpicked apples

Price: $10.99
Where Bought: The Wine Seller in Port Townsend WA, which had a nice cider selection for a small shop, including this one (which I haven’t seen locally lately) and a couple others I hadn’t even seen in Seattle (I picked up one other bottle too)
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing

First Impression: Amber orange hue. Moderate carbonation with foam upon pouring. Smells of rich apples with hints of funk and must.

Tasting Notes: Semi-sweet. Medium bodied. Low tartness, acidity, funk, and tannins. No sourness or bitterness. Notes of bittersweet apples, apple juice, apple pomace, orange, floral, and must. Moderate length finish. High apple flavor. Moderate sessionability. Moderate flavor intensity. Low to moderate complexity.

My Opinion: I enjoyed this. I’m a fan of Brittany France ciders in general too (but not typically Normandy France ciders, which tend to have sourness). However, I remember it tasting more clean (no funk) when I tried it on tap, which I prefer.

Most Similar to: Other ciders from Brittany France, such as Celt and Dan Armor, which I think I slightly prefer, and are both more affordable too ($8 for a four pack of 11.2oz bottles of Celt and $5 for a 750ml bottle of Dan Armor – only sold at Trader Joe’s).

Closing Notes: This is a nice selection from Le Brun. I hope I can find their other varieties locally to try (I know at least a couple others get imported).

Have you tried French Cidre? What did you think?

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