An apple a day will keep the doctor away. The problem is they forgot to add that many people are under the impression that apples suck. I used to feel that way until I visited France. The French have single handedly solved this crisis. They have taken the apple and elevated it to something that’s guaranteed to be tasty. I am reformed.
Take for instance the classic tarte aux pommes or apple tart – the front-runner for how an apple should be used. Rich buttery pastry topped up with apples and sweet spices baked to perfection. It gets better when you dig into a tartetatin, an upside down tart where apples are caramelized to a sticky bliss in butter and sugar before being baked. For the rustic, there’s the apple galette where buttery pastry is folded over an intoxicating mix of apples, sugar and spices. Or how about Pommes au beurre? Simply an apple baked with butter. The list of these apple delicacies is long and in Normandy, where apples are king, this royal fruit has been refined it into a spirit that will reform apple haters around the world into apple fanatics. Bring on PèreMagloire V.S.O.P. Calvados.
PèreMagloire’s roots date back to 1821 but it wasn’t until 1863 when most of the grape vineyards in Europe were destroyed by a phylloxera outbreak. Lack of grapes for wine and cognac fueled an increased demand for Calvados. By 1900, “Calvados PèreMagloire became the most important Calvados brand in France,” explains the distillery.
There’s a reason why the apple is king in Normandy and the pride of the region. Yes, the countryside may be full of pastures perfect for raising cattle famous for their butter, cream and cheese. However, within the rolling hills is a temperate climate immaculate for millions of apple trees bearing hundreds of fruit varieties. For Calvados, everything begins in these orchards.
Without high quality apples grown with passion and expertise, you have nothing. Apples are carefully chosen under a watchful eye to ensure only the best are harvested and pressed into cider. These apples are smaller than the common apple and are broken down into four groups. The first is the most common: sweet-sour apples used as the building block of cider balancing sweetness with tannins. The second group is bitter apples. These are higher in tannins used to fortify the framework of the cider. Sour apples make up the third group. They bring acidity to the mix giving the cider and extra freshness. Aromatic sweet apples belong to the fourth group developing more sugar for increased alcohol content.
The cider is naturally fermented for 4 to 6 weeks at the end of which the alcohol content hovers between 5% and 6%. This apple wine is double distilled in a traditional pot still to produce apple brandy. The first distillation produces alcohol content between 25% and 30% known as petit eau. The second distillation is the bonnechauffe producing an alcohol content of 70%. The brandy is then cellar aged for at least 4 years in oak barrels. The distillery explains, “Calvados is always a blend, the age mentioned on the bottle being the youngest brandy of the mix.”
I’d have to call Professor Science to explain the process in detail but over time, there is a mysterious exchange between the Calvados, air, and the tannins of the wood that give the spirit its color, its complexity and its roundness. The Cellar Master follows the maturing process very closely constantly tasting to preserve the exact flavor profiles of their Calvados. The result is a spirit that’s identified by its “finesse and subtlety.”
This particular Calvados is described as “superb dark golden color, heavily scented apple blossoms and delicious crisp flavor, harmoniously blending with the freshness of the fruit.” It makes sense why this award winning Calvados took home a silver medal at the 2011 San Francisco World Sprits Competition. It’s affordable luxury compared to its nemesis Cognac.
It’s true that a lot of devotion, patience, skill and care go into this spirit and a little does go a long way. Calvados is perfect before a meal or after a meal paired with mature cheese. It’s one of those rare spirits where it doesn’t really matter when you have a sip. It’s good anytime especially as a pause between meal courses called the “Norman hole”. This is a shot of calvados to improve the appetite and make room for the next course. When the food is as good as it is in France, anything is welcome to make sure you have room for whatever comes next. Just make sure you save some room for the apple desserts.
Blair Phillips
Toronto Canada
blair_phillips@yahoo.com
Twitter: @Blair_Phillips
