2018 Domaine Lesuffleur ‘Friardel’ Cidre de Normandie, Normandy, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

Friardel is a high-branched orchard planted in soils of blue flint and clay with a chalk bedrock. The orchard has been maintained by Benoit’s grandfather, Roger since 1965 and continuously farmed by his family since. These trees are planted at a much lower density than the other orchards, just 100 to 150 trees per hectare. The average age of the apple trees is 50 years old. A blend of heritage apples with a larger percentage of bitter varieties - 49% bitter (Mettais, Frèquin...), along with 36% bittersweet (Binet Rouge, Bisquet), 15% sharp (Rambeau, René Martin).

Indigenous yeasts for both fermentations, bottled by gravity, 12 months on fine lees in bottle, disgorged.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The Lesuffleur family have grown apples and produced cider in Normandy for generations. Benoit learned his craft from his grandfather, Roger Lesuffleur - a well-reputed cidermaker in the Pays d’Auge and the first to sell the family’s cider commercially. However, his father was less focused on continuing the family business, preferring to make cider to enjoy at home with family.

So Benoit moved away, finished his studies and built a successful business as a wine agent in Paris, representing many top estates in Champagne and Burgundy. Inspired by these winemakers he worked so closely with, he realized his childhood ambition - to be a cidermaker like his grandfather.

After finally convincing his parents he was on to something, he returned home on weekends to oversee the management of his family apple orchards and in 2012, produced his first vintage of Domaine Lesuffleur cider. Today, he’s taken on some of the best varieties from his family’s orchards, using a wide range of heritage apples & pears, and creating vinous blends that balance sweet, bitter, and tannic varieties.