Julien Fremont - Cidre Brut par Nature, Normandy, France

TASTING NOTES

A very dry cider with complex ripe apple and floral aromas, creamy, earthy spiciness on the palate, refreshing and delicious! Julien Frémont’s ciders are well regarded as some of Normandy's most singular and exciting.

Apples are hand harvested, then, for the fruit that needs it, stored in an attic in order to slightly dehyrate the fruit and increase the concentration. The apples are then mashed to obtain a pulp that macerates for a few hours before being pressed through a web cloth to gather the juices. The juice is then racked into large barrels where it ferments for about six months. After racking the juices between barrels in order to calm down the yeasts, the juices are bottled partially fermented and will continue to ferment in the bottle, trapping the created carbon dioxide and resulting in a natural carbonation. A deposit at the bottom of the bottle is normal. No oenological products are used at any point

In the Pays d’Auge in Calvados, Julien Frémont is a natural cider-making pioneer that is more concerned with making things properly than he is following the rules of the appellation. His family farm is 15ha of orchard and 25ha of pasture. He presses apples using technology from the 18th Century. The local valley climate makes it ideal for growing verdant grass which the cows feed on, making for very healthy and fertilized trees; the essence of farming biodynamically. 

The Pays d’Auge AOC only regulates semi sweet ciders but Julien Frémont is one of the only producers in Calvados making entirely dry ciders, letting the heirloom apples ferment almost entirely (meaning they drink totally dry), showing off much more precision, acidity, and intensity than other local producers. Julien Frémont gained popularity in France with help from winemaker friends like Jean Foillard.

Julien Frémont’s ciders are well regarded as some of Normandy's most singular and we are excited to offer his cider and Calvados in Ontario. Everything about these ciders are natural, from hand harvesting to biodiversity in the orchards to wild fermentation and natural stabilization.