Christian Drouin Reserve Calvados Pays d'Auge - 5 l Dame Jeanne + Pipette 45cm

Volume: 5 litres | Alcohol content: 40% | Chill filtration: Yes | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Christian Drouin's Réserve combines the pronounced apple character of a young Calvados with the first spicy influences of cask maturation. The blend comprises several Calvados from the Pays d'Auge matured for more than three years. They are distilled twice in a traditional pot still and matured mainly in small, previously used oak casks. The restrained wood influence gives the fruit room to express itself while retaining the structure and spice of maturation.

This large-format version contains 5 litres of Calvados at 40% in a rounded demijohn. A 45 cm pipette is included for drawing out the Calvados. The bottling contains no colouring and comes without gift packaging.

Réserve can be enjoyed neat after a meal, paired with cheese or apple desserts, or used as a fruity base for cocktails. In 2023, it won the Best Vieux, Reserve title at the World Calvados Awards.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose reveals fresh apples and pears, accompanied by light vanilla and subtle spice.
• Palate: The Calvados is rounded and lively on the palate. A clear apple flavour combines with gentle spice and balanced cask influence.
• Finish: The finish is slightly dry. Delicate wood notes accompany the fruity freshness.

Distillery/Bottler:

The family house's history began in 1960 with the purchase of Ferme Fiefs Sainte-Anne near Gonneville-sur-Honfleur. With support from experienced distiller Pierre Pivet, Christian Drouin senior had cider distilled there and initially set the spirits aside to mature. Sales began only in 1979, once sufficient stocks of matured spirit had been built up. In 1991–92, production moved to a 17th-century farm in Coudray-Rabut near Pont-l'Évêque. Guillaume Drouin, an agricultural engineer and oenologist, joined the company in 2004 as the third generation and took over its management in 2013. He continues to create the blends together with his father Christian.

For its cider, the house uses around thirty apple varieties from its own standard-tree orchards, supplementing the harvest with fruit from neighbouring farms. The washed and sorted apples are crushed; the apple pulp rests for several hours in a stainless-steel tank before being gently pressed in a pneumatic press. This produces softer, less bitter tannins. For Calvados Pays d'Auge, double distillation follows in a pot still with a capacity of 2500 litres. Heads and tails are separated in both runs, with the cut points adjusted to the particular cider.

Cask management is central to Christian Drouin's approach. Many casks have been used before and therefore release fewer bitter wood tannins. The house uses former sherry, port, Rivesaltes and Banyuls casks, among others, but each blend has its own maturation plan. Christian and Guillaume taste every cask in the cellar each year before deciding how it will be used next.

Facts: