Bress NV Harcourt Valley Cider Bon Bon 750ml

NOTES

Whilst living and winemaking in the Yarra Valley, Adam Markes discovered the joys of breeding and showing chickens. This passion led Adam to visit France in 1996 to witness first hand their traditional methods of breeding chickens and I dedicate our wines to the famous chickens of France and what they represent – artisan production using traditional, age old methods.

The fruit for this Harcourt Valley Cider was selected from an orchard situated in the apple growing centre of Victoria, the Harcourt Valley. The trees are planted on a range of rootstocks and are trellised using a number of techniques, including free standing trees and the U trellis system.

My cider making belief is that good fruit should be treated gently and with minimal intervention. The Bress Harcourt Valley Cider was treated in this manner. The apples were milled and then gently basket pressed.  Fermentation was conducted by a number of yeast strains, some introduced, some indigenous.  Post fermentation blending of the different cider cuvees resulted in a blend of 60 percent cider apple varieties, 30 percent Pink Lady and 10 percent Perry pears.  As this cider is made in a Normandy style, the blend was tiraged to induce a second fermentation in the bottle using the same techniques as those used in making Champagne. The cider then spent 6 months on lees. The cider was disgorged and an expedition liqueur was added to create a luscious desert style cider.  This cider was crown sealed using minimal preservatives.

TASTING NOTES

A vibrant and pristine medium golden straw with green tinges and a slight cloudiness; The cider offers an array of aromas of freshly cut apples, green skinned fruits and bread like yeastiness. The cider has a lovely sweet creaminess and fullness which presents a range of flavours along the palate making this cider quite complex.  The natural acidity balances the sweetness and gives this cider lovely length.