Domaine Pinnacle Signature Réserve Speciale

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

Sampled at Mondial 2006. Dark gold body that sticks to the glass. The aroma is massive with tart and fresh apples. There is also a hint of soapy character, but not in a bad way. The taste is very sweet almost to the point of tasting like apple juice. The body is very thick. This is very intense.

Even when imbibed alongside their regular Cidre de Glace, this one is a mammoth...Just more of everything : 16 pounds of apples instead of 12, a decadent and luscious body for the hungriest amongst us, a little apple peel tartness to make it all glide effortlessly, a fine multi-layered aftertaste that adds to the complexity, and the story of a mysterious apple genus which has been thriving endemically on their land forever, of which they cannot find the origin...All euphoria aside, if you are not into apple pie sweetness, you will probably not appreciate this for what it is, but if you are open to tongueboggling precision and huge mouthfulls of flavor, you must try this...Probably one of the top 2 ice ciders in my book right now, awaiting a fantastic showdown with Frimas...My wallet will not appreciate the showdown though, which is the only downfall of these 2 majestic ciders, but it is to be expected from a tiny 375ml bottle which harbors 16 pounds of apples which were harvested from the tree itself in the coldest days of winter, all expertly transformed into marvelous cider...

Small sample from 375 ml bottle at the Mondial. Light medium gold with nice legs, quite viscous and thick...alcoholic, slightly herbal crisp/sweet apple nose (Ambrosia or Pink Lady perhaps)...body very sweet, with loads of vanilla and oaky woodiness, those beautiful varietal apples and ripe peaches as a complement...another stellar Quebec ice cider.

While the regular Pinnacle Ice cider boasts 80 apples per bottle, Signature has 120. It pours a viscous dark golden, clear. Large legs coat the sides of the glass. Tart and woody aroma, rooty almost. Very present liqueur-like alcohol hits up the nose immediately and can’t give this one any purpose, but to be served as an after-dinner drink. Concentrated apples, dense, yet pretty tart foundations. Rather cloying residual sweetness. It is a high quality product, but doesn’t quite hold a candle to the very best examples that manage to excuse their sweetness through pure decadent glorious complexity and the pinnacle signature certainly tries to. Not as thick-bodied as I expected it to be, but certainly oily and one of the sweetest.

Maple syrup, apples, brown sugar in the aroma. Amber resin colouration. Nice legs on the glass. Excellent viscosity. Strong alcohol baked apple and brown sugar. Bottle (sampled at Mondial 2004).

(Bottle) Mondial de la Bière 2004. Light amber body with a light viscosity. Sweet MacIntosh apple pulp with mildly-acidic undertones. The alcohol mingles in along with some burnt brown sugar and super-sweet apples. Good.