Etienne Dupont Organic Cidre Bouché Brut de Normandie

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

25 oz bottle, 2006 Vintage, via TheCheeseMan I believe. Pours a slightly hazy yellow gold with a small minimal white head that ran to a thin ring. Nice crisp slightly overripe apples with lots of skins and a bit of dry funkiness. Soft delicate apple cider with a touch of sugary sweetness, again, lots of skins on the finish. This is like taking a bite out of a fresh juicy apple, but there’s that soft funkiness that really adds to the complexity. Great minimal yet fizzy carbonation with a slight tannic dryness on the finish that makes me take gulp after gulp. This was just like the others from Dupont, excellent. I could really drink these all night.

2007 Bottle: Pop goes the cork..fizzy through the air to the glass...Head starts huge with a vigorous pour but fast fowards to absolute nothing. Slowly the bubbles rise to the top and form a white ring around the edges of the glass. The nose is subtle apple with faint notes of wood, cheese, band-aid, must, and barn. The flavors bring out stronger notes of funk, cheese, and a sweet apple flavor that quickly finishes on the woody, cheesy, dry side. I probably should have held on to this for another year or two as I think the funk will grow, but as of now, it’s still quite nice. Very woody, sweet, but then dry at the same time. Will need to grab a few for the cellar, for sure.

2006 bottle. Pours with a largish, foamy white head covering a hazy gold body with some particles. Aroma of apples, light barnyard and some cinnamon. Taste is sweet upfront followed by dry apples and earthyness. Fizzy.

375ml Bottle 2006 Cinnamon nose. Earthy and over ripe apple flavors. Finishes dry, with an odd wood finish.

2005 vintage: Pristine yellow gold. White head nosily fizzles as it slowly diminishes into a consistent, well-retained collar. Zingy, saliva-inducing aromas of unripe peaches, grass, melon, leather, bandage, dried apples, and musty basement. Notably minerally as well. Hints of iron and cedar. Soft, big-bubbled crackle of carbonation. Soft, well-rounded lactobacillus tartness immediately fuses with a bright kiss of explosive fruit which packs supple weight and a high concentration of refined sweetness. Notes of leather and oak gorgeously contrast with the slick body and remarkably succulent apple character as they lend light grip. Complexity is through the roof, and the balance is awe-inspiring. Brett-derived phenols crisply sparkle with pinpoint definition which echoes the equally snappy apple profile. Perfumey esters enhance the lift and bolster the quaffable nature of the cider. Borderline-brisk acidity lightly buckles the cheeks as it lends slight firmness to the otherwise resoundingly juicy body. Faint apple skin bitterness complements the structure as it harmonizes with the poignant yet artfully understated oak character. Tannins are nonexistent which allows the fruit to showcase its pureness. Acid continually teases the palate as it wavers in and out of the dense residuals. Lovely interplay between dryness and sweetness as it finishes with a lengthy fusion of pineapple, peach, musty cellar, and vibrant apples. Both a rustic and extravagant cider from France’s finest. Not stocking this by the case should be a sin. This is divine.

Consumed May ’06. Hazy yellowish-orange, decent head, lots of sedimant. Huge geueze like aroma. Sour apples, tart apple skin. Flavor much the same, with maybe a little cork character. Very dry, crisp. Very nice overall.

Slight haze with fading head. Nose of grassy apple. Very nicely dry. Mild. Slight effervesence- nice hits of tartness at the sides.

This is a lot more approchable than the others in the family. Much dryer on the palate, with some really upfront ripe apple flavors. Still has some of that vinous woody notes that I really do not like, but it blows off the longer you drink it and get used to it.