Christian Drouin Vintage 1967/2007 Calvados AOC

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 40% | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Long maturation in oak shapes this vintage Calvados from Christian Drouin. Distilled in 1967 and bottled in 2007, it belongs to the Les Millésimés range. The vintage refers to the year of distillation, not the apple harvest.

Ripe apples meet restrained woody notes, a delicate hint of vanilla and gentle spice. Bottled at 40%, it comes in a bottle containing 0.7 litres, with a wooden box.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose reveals ripe apples accompanied by light woody notes and a hint of vanilla.
• Palate: On the palate, fruitiness combines harmoniously with gentle spice.
• Finish: Apple and oak notes linger through the long finish.

Distillery/Bottler:

The house's story began in 1960, when Christian Drouin senior acquired the Fiefs Sainte-Anne farm in the hills of Gonneville near Honfleur. Together with distiller Pierre Pivet, he turned the cider produced there into Calvados and built up extensive stocks for maturation. His son Christian joined in 1969; sales only began in 1979, once enough mature Calvados was available. Old vintages thus became a focus of the family business. In 1991 and 1992, production moved to a 17th-century farm in Coudray-Rabut near Pont-l'Évêque.

The house manages its casks to suit each Calvados. Previously used casks limit the uptake of bitter tannins; older spirits can be moved into larger vessels once they have developed enough structure from the wood. Christian and Guillaume Drouin taste the contents of the casks annually and decide how to use them going forward. Guillaume, a trained agricultural engineer and oenologist, joined the family business in 2004 and took over its management in 2013.

Facts: