Vintage Archives - Wine Paradise

CHÂTEAU DU BREUIL Calvados Millésime 1998 (41%)

shop_admin — Sat, 23 May 2020 12:22:37 +0000

Calvados

Calvados is an apple brandy from Normandy in France.
Calvados is distilled from cider made from specially grown and selected apples, from over 200 varieties. They can be bitter, sweet, acid, sour or bitter-sweet.
The fruit is harvested and pressed into a juice that is fermented into a dry cider. It is then distilled into eau de vie. After ageing in oak casks, it can be sold as calvados as following:

*“Fine”: 2 years old minimum
*“VSOP”: 4 years
*“XO”: 6 years

Three different AOC appellations exist:
*Calvados (71% of total surface): Can be obtained by apples from the whole Normandy and be distilled only once in a column still.
*Calvados « Pays d’Auge » (28%): the apples must be produced in the Region Pays d’Auge, from selected varieties. 2 distillations in a pot still are necessary.
*Calvados «Domfrontais» (1%) : produced with minimum 30 % of pears.

Château du Breuil

Located in the midst of the Calvados region (Normandy), Château du Breuil has been a distillery transforming apples into Calvados, an apple brandy, since 1954.

Built in the early 16th century, the Château has been the residence of great noble French families and now is classified as a historical monument.

It is one of the rare Calvados distilleries to have integrated orchards of apple trees in the property, total 22,000 planted on 42 hectares.

Château du Breuil company produces more than 420,000 bottles every year. It is the N°2 AOC “Pays d’Auge” Calvados producer.

By the way, do you know:
24 kg of apples
Provide around 18 liters Cider (+/- 5% Vol. Alc.)
Provide approximately 1 liter pure alcohol Calvados (100% Alc.)

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ARRAN Single Malt Scotch Whisky – “Angels’ Reserve” Aged 19 Years- Vintage 1997 (48.2%)

shop_admin — Sat, 23 May 2020 10:33:14 +0000

Arran Island

Situated on the south-west coast of Scotland, Arran is only 432 km2 and a resident population of 4,629. Often referred to as “Scotland in Miniature”, the island is divided into highland and lowland areas and has been described as a “geologist’s paradise”.
The main industry on the island is tourism, with outdoor activities. The Arran Coastal Way was designated as one of Scotland’s Great Trails by Scottish Natural Heritage in June 2017.
The island is recognized as perfect for whisky production. The source –Loch na Davie –has been verified as amongst the purest in Scotland, a unique climate, Gulf Stream effect, can also contribute to rapid maturation.
In fact, the island has a rich history of distillation –first legal distillery on Arran in 1836. During the 19th century, there were more than 50 illicit stills on Arran but all disappeared.

Arran

Arran is one of Scotland’s newer distilling operations, but it has now been in existence for long enough to offer an 18-year-old core expression, though 10, 12 and 14-year-olds are also available, along with a number of cask finishes and regular limited releases.
Arran Distillers is owned by a group of private shareholders and the managing director is Euan Mitchell. As well as the distillery and associated warehousing on the Isle of Arran the company has its head office on a business park near Stirling, in Central Scotland.
The company also operates a second, newer distillery at Lagg, on the south side of the island.

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ARRAN Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Premium Single Bourbon Cask 1999 (55.1%)

shop_admin — Sat, 23 May 2020 09:48:58 +0000

Arran Island

Arran

The post ARRAN Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Premium Single Bourbon Cask 1999 (55.1%) appeared first on Wine Paradise.