The Apple cider was a huge hit, and this time around we have the equally great Pear! The 2022 Cidrerie de Verzy Poiré is another fascinating release from the collaborative project founded by five talented Grower Champagne vignerons: Quentin Paillard, Flavien Nowack, Adrien Renoir, Bertrand Lapie and Antoine Bouvet, who approach cider with the same precision they bring to Champagne. Rather than treating this as a simple pear cider, they work much more like winemakers, sourcing organically and biodynamically farmed fruit from old trees, some reaching 250 years of age, in Champagne and Normandy. The 2022 Poiré is produced from the Pan de Blanc pear, a variety prized for its aromatic delicacy, natural acidity, and ability to produce wonderfully fine, dry cider (or perry as it is called when made with pears). The fruit is pressed traditionally in a basket press and fermented slowly in neutral oak in their cellar in Verzy, with fermentation lasting for several months and potentially up to a year. For the secondary fermentation in bottle, they follow the same philosophy used for their cider, using the natural sugars from fresh fruit juice rather than conventional cane or beet sugar for the prise de mousse, followed by at least a year of aging on the lees before disgorgement. The result is remarkably vinous and precise, with fresh pear, white flowers and subtle honeyed fruit joined by citrus, gentle spice and a cool mineral character. The palate is dry, lively and beautifully textured, with a fine mousse, bright acidity and a clean, refreshing finish. This drinks much more like a carefully made sparkling wine than conventional cider and is another wonderfully distinctive bottle from a group of Champagne growers pushing the boundaries of what fermented fruit can be. A great one to stock up on for the holidays; we have the only bottles of this available in the US right now, and it comes highly recommended!
2022 Cidrerie de Verzy Poiré
2022 Cidrerie de Verzy Poiré
The Apple cider was a huge hit, and this time around we have the equally great Pear! The 2022 Cidrerie de Verzy Poiré is another fascinating release from the collaborative project founded by five talented Grower Champagne vignerons: Quentin Paillard, Flavien Nowack, Adrien Renoir, Bertrand Lapie and Antoine Bouvet, who approach cider with the same precision they bring to Champagne. Rather than treating this as a simple pear cider, they work much more like winemakers, sourcing organically and biodynamically farmed fruit from old trees, some reaching 250 years of age, in Champagne and Normandy. The 2022 Poiré is produced from the Pan de Blanc pear, a variety prized for its aromatic delicacy, natural acidity, and ability to produce wonderfully fine, dry cider (or perry as it is called when made with pears). The fruit is pressed traditionally in a basket press and fermented slowly in neutral oak in their cellar in Verzy, with fermentation lasting for several months and potentially up to a year. For the secondary fermentation in bottle, they follow the same philosophy used for their cider, using the natural sugars from fresh fruit juice rather than conventional cane or beet sugar for the prise de mousse, followed by at least a year of aging on the lees before disgorgement. The result is remarkably vinous and precise, with fresh pear, white flowers and subtle honeyed fruit joined by citrus, gentle spice and a cool mineral character. The palate is dry, lively and beautifully textured, with a fine mousse, bright acidity and a clean, refreshing finish. This drinks much more like a carefully made sparkling wine than conventional cider and is another wonderfully distinctive bottle from a group of Champagne growers pushing the boundaries of what fermented fruit can be. A great one to stock up on for the holidays; we have the only bottles of this available in the US right now, and it comes highly recommended!
