Le Père Jules Pommeau de Normandie

Nose: Apple cider, honey with herbal notes, lemon peel. Taste: Sweet upfront, with intense apple and pear tastes, honey, slightly bitter citrus, and subtle spices like cinnamon. Acidity emerges with baked grain flavors, reminiscent of brioche or pastry. The texture is crisp. Finish: Brief. Apple and mild citrus, with a light sweetness that lingers. Pommeau is a mistelle blend made from calvados and fresh apple juice, aged in oak. This particular bottling is aged for 5 years. It presents a fresh, aromatic orchard character, somewhat like hard apple cider but with more depth and complexity. It can be enjoyed in various ways, but I find it best chilled as an appetizer, or with almond biscotti or macarons as a digestif. Keeping it chilled is advisable due to its tendency to oxidize quickly, even when cold. Its shelf life is comparable to vermouth, generally best when freshly opened or within a few days. It may gain a little sweetness and depth initially, but after a couple of weeks opened (especially if not refrigerated), it develops a sour, flat profile (though a bottle rarely lasts that long in my house!). “Good”: 84/100 (3.75 stars)