PRE-ORDER: domaine lesuffleur 2020 'la folletière' cider – $47.95
PRE-ORDER: domaine lesuffleur 2020 'la folletière' cider – $47.95
Configuration:(6 x 750mL)
Winery: Domaine Lesuffleur
Appellation: Normandy, France
Philosophy/Practices: Certified Organic
Apple Variety: A blend of up to 12 different heritage varieties in the single La Folletière orchard. The final blend is 25% acidic/sharp, 25% bitter, and 50% bittersweet varieties.
ABV: 5%
Why we love it: La Folletière is one of the Lesuffleur orchards, planted by Benoît’s father in 1996. The trees here are low-branched and Certified Organic as of 2023, though Benoît has been farming organically here for many years now. At harvest, apples are hand-picked and hand-selected: Benoît selects only the top ~10% of La Folletière’s fruit for this cuvée, and the rest he sells to other local cideries.
In the cellar, fermentation is thoroughly indigenous inside the bottle after Keeving (see below!) and the resulting ciders age for a minimum of 36 months in bottle before being disgorged. This 2020 La Folletière is the current vintage!
In addition to the beautiful balance and expression of these long-aged ciders, Benoît insists on making them vintaged: each cuvée becomes a true showcase terroir with the seasonal variations of one year to the next. The result is a classic, deeply coloured and concentrated cider that shows incredible nuance and depth. We’re smitten.
What is Keeving Method?
To put it simply, Keeving Method is a very old, traditional way of making a richer, sparkling cider with a touch of residual, balancing sugar left over. This gentle ratio of sugars with more tannic apple varieties (such as Benoît uses) is what creates such a gorgeous balance of structure and flavour in traditional Normandy ciders.
In Keeving Method, the apples are brought to the cellar, where they’re crushed into pommace. That pommace is allowed to rest, sometimes for weeks, to “brown” (begin to oxidize). The browned pommace is then pressed, and the juice settles for a couple of days. A châpeau brun (“brown cap”) forms at the top of the juice during this settling process. In large part, the châpeau brun is comprised of much of the nutrients that the indigenous yeasts would feed on – meaning that the fermentation won’t fully complete, and a touch of the natural sugars of the cider will remain in the final product.
From here, the châpeau brun is removed, and the remaining juice is bottled to undergo indigenous/spontaneous fermentation inside the bottle (no added yeast). At Domaine Lesuffleur, the bottles are left for a minimum of 36 months to age.
