Etienne Dupont Cidre De Givre Eis Cider

Brewed by Domaine Familial Louis Dupont
Style: Ice Cider
Victot-Pontfol, France

Murky caramelized apple colour. Sugary and really spicy. Soft, sweet, with some mapley notes, splashes of brown sugar and caramel. Not as rich as most of the Canadian examples I’ve had.

Courtesy TheCheeseMan. Pours a lightly hazy, medium-golden color. The still body looks light for an Ice Cider. The nose shows sweet, musty apples, vanilla, and some light but fumy vinegar notes. Smells nice, but just nowhere near the nose of a high end ice cider. Likewise, flavors are nice enough, but not special, with pungent, musty apples dominating, and not much else shining through. Not particularly broad in any particular spectrum. The medium-full body feels a bit artificial and overly sugary. Overall, this just feels like a cheap attempt at a style that simply demands top quality ingredients and processes. Poor value too, considering the premium pricetag. A disappointment, considring the mastery that is their Cuvee Colette.

Vintage 2005. 375 ml bottle. Pours a hazy amber with no head. I’ll begin by saying the thick yelllow wax on the top of this bottle is a royal pain in the ass. I hate picking flecks of wax out of my glass. Second, I noticed a lot of sediment on the bottom of the bottle, so when I poured, I left about 2 inches in the bottle. Pours a hazy amber with no head. Pleasant aroma of apples along with a few whisps of alcohol. The flavor is over-ripe apples and is excessively sweet to the point of almost making me sick. Thick, cloying, almost viscous mouthfeel makes you feel like you’re drinking the juice of rotting apples. I ended up leaving most of it in the glass. Drain pour.

Courtesy TheCheeseMan. Orange pour, small bits of foam. Not aggressively tart, almost smoky aroma, a bit peppery. Apple juice texture. Rich but basic taste, the lack of tartness makes the taste seem balnd and uneventful, even though what is present is tasty. Just okay.

I have wanted to try this one for quite some time, and Pepsican hooked me up. Pours a deep amber color. The aroma is of ripe, red apples, perhaps applesauce as well. The flavor is flabby, and not balanced, there is no discernible acidity to balance this cider. The mouthfeel really suffers from the lack of alcohol, it is just not working for me. Given the fact that this is on the level as Neige in terms of price, this one simply does not measure up for me.

Courtesy of TheCheeseman. Pours a lightly hazy amber, with no head at all. Smells of syrup and apples, with some sweet malts as well. The flavor is of monster apples and a touch of some pear and malt. Had alot of apple juice qualitites to it, almost like alcoholic juice. Kind of cool. Pretty well rounded for a cider, not many noticeable flaws to be pointed out. Pretty tasty.

Merritt Island Throwdown ’08: Bottle, courtesy TheCheeseMan. Pours an orange color, with no head or lacing. Aroma is essentially just apple cider vinegar. Tart and not too pleasant. Flavor, however, is very sweet and great to drink. Apple is big and thick, while grapefruit balances it out a bit. Tart to the touch, but finishes rich and sweet.

I was really hopeing/expecting from a $23 375 ml bottle 2006. No head. Dirty brown color. Smell of good fresh apples with a touch of alchohol. Not that easy to drink. I like sweet beverages, but this is a little to sweet. I’ll probably never that much on a bottle again.All in all though, i’m glad i tried it!