The Wine Reference🍷 SupportNormandy: Calvados (apple and pear brandy)
Photo: Nicolas Denorme on Unsplash
Calvados is distilled from cider in Normandy, where apples, not grapes, are the local fruit.
How it's made
Aged at least two years in oak. Calvados Pays d'Auge is double distilled in pot stills; Calvados Domfrontais must contain at least 30% pear.
Many varieties of sweet, bitter and sour cider apples (and some perry pears) are milled and fermented slowly into dry cider. Most Calvados is distilled in column stills, while Calvados Pays d'Auge must be double distilled in copper pot stills, like cognac.
History
Normandy is cider country, and the first written record of distilling cider there dates to 1553 in the diary of a local landowner, Gilles de Gouberville. Calvados gained its appellation in 1942, with Pays d'Auge and Domfrontais following as separate names.
Ageing and label terms
All Calvados must age at least 2 years in oak. Fine, VS or *** means at least 2 years; Vieux or Réserve at least 3; VO, VSOP or Vieille Réserve at least 4; XO, Hors d'Âge or Très Vieille Réserve at least 6. Vintage bottlings also exist.
Styles
Young, fresh and fruity Calvados for mixing; mellow, nutty older blends; Pays d'Auge with extra depth from pot stills; and pear-led Domfrontais.
Rules and protected names
There are three AOCs: Calvados, Calvados Pays d'Auge (double pot still distillation) and Calvados Domfrontais (at least 30% perry pears, column still, at least 3 years in oak). Bottles are at least 40% ABV.
How to serve and classic cocktails
Young Calvados works with tonic over ice; older ones are best neat after dinner. Classic cocktails include the Jack Rose, the Corpse Reviver No. 1 and the Calvados Sour.
With food
Normandy cheeses such as Camembert, Livarot and Pont-l'Évêque, pork with apples and cream, and tarte Tatin.
Good to know
The 'trou normand' is a small glass of Calvados (or Calvados sorbet) served mid-meal to make room for the next course. Pommeau, a blend of apple juice and Calvados, is a local aperitif.
Producers
- Christian Drouin
- Père Magloire
- Roger Groult
- Boulard
Bottles to try
Christian Drouin Calvados Pays d'Auge Réserve
Baked apple, pear, vanilla and a touch of spice.
Serve: Neat after dinner
Boulard VSOP Calvados Pays d'Auge
Baked apple, pear, vanilla, toffee and gentle oak.
Strength: 40% · Age and cask: VSOP, at least 4 years in oak
Boulard has made calvados in the Pays d'Auge since 1825. Pays d'Auge calvados must be double-distilled in pot stills, which gives more depth than single column distillation.
Serve: Neat, or a splash in a cider-based cocktail
Père Magloire Calvados Fine VS
Fresh baked apple, pear, light vanilla and a clean, fruity finish.
Strength: 40% · Age and cask: At least 2 years in oak
One of the best-known Calvados houses, based in Pont-l'Évêque in the Pays d'Auge. The young VS is made to keep the fresh orchard fruit up front.
Serve: With tonic over ice, in a Jack Rose, or as a 'trou normand' between courses
Christian Drouin Calvados Pays d'Auge XO
Rich and mellow: baked apple, tarte tatin, toffee, dried fruit and spice.
Strength: 40% · Age and cask: At least 6 years, oak casks
A family house in the Pays d'Auge, where cider made from local apples and some pears is double-distilled in copper pot stills. XO on Calvados means at least six years in oak.
Serve: Neat, or as a 'trou normand' between courses
Roger Groult Calvados Pays d'Auge Réserve 3 Ans
Crisp baked apple, pear and a light touch of oak and spice.
Age and cask: 3 years, oak
A family estate in Saint-Cyr-du-Ronceray, run by the Groults for five generations. Cider is double-distilled over a wood fire in copper pot stills, as the Pays d'Auge appellation requires.
Serve: Neat as a digestif, or with tonic
More brandy regions
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