Domaine Pinnacle Cidre de Glace Petillant

Brewed by Domaine Pinnacle Inc.
Style: Ice Cider
Frelighsburg, Canada

2006 bottle. Pours a nice apple juice sort of color, very much an amber yellow with a little rush of tiny bubbles. Smells mainly of apples with a bit of alcohol showing through. Taste is reasonably sweet, a little drier than some others of the style I’ve had, which is pretty nice. It is a little bit sour, but only a tiny little bit like an apple, and the alcohol is a bit apparent. Mouthfeel is interesting. It’s not really sparkling like champagne is, very fine little bubbles that you notice a little bit. Very syrupy and thick, which is nice for the style. Might be better still, hard to say for sure, I’ll make that call when I open that bottle. All in all, damn fine.

Wow, what a cider. The sugar concentration from the ice-wine treatment make this a decadent yet light drinking aperitif. The effervescence lends a wonderful tickle to the end of the swallow. Simply beautiful drinking experience.

(375ml bottle) Oily bubble lacing at the glass edges, this cider is a stunningly lovable amber colour with an indelible viscosity. The carbonation is displayed with very slow rising bubbles. The odour off the glass is a mildly acidic-sweet yet sweet-sweet concurrently. Flavours carbonate against the tongue - like FIZZ candy - the taste foams on your tongue. Sweet and still sour notes. Cathartic exercise of flavours on the palate. This cider finishes with a superb and everlasting bitter apple sliding across the salivary glands. It was so good - I was tempted to kiss DumDum for the offering... alas, I stopped short.

Robinvboyer hooked up big time!!! Nice "pop" when the cork was removed, with scant bubble formation in the bottle. That changes when poured. The yellow nectar is pierced by a steady yet ultimately elegant bead of bubbles, wafting effortlessly towards heaven. Glorious to gaze upon. The aroma is a melange of sweet apples, butter, light brown sugar, peach cobbler, some vanilla and even a hint of pie spices. The flavor is at first sweet, though not as syrupy as I expected. The bubbles tease the palate, almost causing me to pause, wondering what is next. Then the nectar is revealed. Waves of apple sweetness, crisp acidity, a nice yeastiness. A wonder to behold.

2005 bottling consumed in 07. So pale is the golden pour, it seems to be glazed with a white sugarcoating of soft carbonation that trickles slowly to the top. Legs are thick and coverage is three quarters of the available space. This looks like a sleepy Champagne, sultry and elegant. The aroma is richer than I’ve yet experienced in ice cider or icewine, with the sole exception of the Inniskillen Pinot Noir icewine. Apples in the nose are so tightly crammed, so sugary and so deeply wound into complex microcosms of acids and earthy must. I feel like I can sense a tangible brix reading that’s on a new chart, a chart that had to be re-scaled to measure the ferocious intensity and high residual sugars this presents so effortlessly. Nectars of firmly pressed multiple varities of fruit skins parade across the palate with just a slight inhalation and beg a sip. Brown sugar and ultra-sweetened caramels coat the edge of each whiff. Alcohol only serves as a depthy addition to this bakery-in-the-morning aromatic composition. Each time I draw the flute to my nose I feel like I’m in the loft bar that is Redlight/Redlight and the apple pies and fritters encrusted with brown sugar have been left in the oven too long in the bakery below - the fire department is on the way and the flames will be extinguished when I finally give in and take the first sip. One taste and my mind is spinning and my heart is racing. The complexity throughout a small sip, the bold finish full of bready notes and glazed sugars, is terrific! Soft carbonation disperses mild must-coated apple skin notes that eventually release a candy and juice combination that is lightly tart and causes shuddering. Wild sweetness and complexity that skates past preconceived notions of the limits previously encountered is a beautiful feature. Buttery sweet pastry notes are monstrous and fit perfectly with the mild acidity. The mouthfeel is quite full for a sparkling beverage, sparse though the carbonation is. At the flavor pinnacle of each sip I feel as if I’m being trampled by an angry six foot croissant with icing and fangs. Monumental.

2008-05-31. Crisp golden yellow body. (3+) sweet aroma, tart lightly musty apple skins, sweet fruit in the aroma. Tart apples up front, fruit overall impression. Less sweet than some others, pleasantly so. Refreshing, not cloying. Smooth medium to full bodied syrupy palate. Very nice cider. Bottle, Mondial, Montreal, ?T

Concentrated brown sugar and lightly bitter apple skins in the aroma. Clear golden-copper with excellent viscosity - coats the sides of the glass. Apple skins, browned pulp, brown sugar, honey, vanilla flavours mingle freely and leave a lasting sweetness on the tongue. Somewhat sticky and syrupy though perhaps served just a bit warm but the carbonation brings out the apple flavours magnificently. Sampled at Mondial de la Bière 2005.

375 ml bottle dated 2006 courtesy of a trade with mullet2007. Pours a brilliant, clear gold with a few carbonation bubbles clinging to the sides of the glass, especially towards the bottom of the flute. Lovely aroma of apples. The flavor is apples that have some honey sweetness and just a bit of tartness to balance out the sugars. This cider is lightly carbonated, so it is not spritzy or soda-like. Some very mild warming from the 12% abv at the finish in no way diminishes the experience. Delicious!