Charlie Harvey

Review — Cidre Domaine de la Galotière from the craft market

Written by Charlie on

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Cidre Fermier Biologique Domaine de la Galotière from cidercider at the Plein du Publique, Rotterdam

Picture of a bottle of Cidre Fermier Biologique Domaine de la Galotière dry cider

Today Nor and I wandered up to a lovely little craft event called Plein du Publique in Pijnackerplein near her gaff in Rotterdam. One of the stalls was run by Wouter Bijl of CiderCider and they had a nice little selection of ciders including some English ones. We had a good chat about the embryonic Dutch cider scene and I bought a couple of rather nice French ciders. Including this dry, organic cider from Normandy.

Nor described the bottle as "1970s wholefood co-operative". Its a 75 cl wine-style bottle of the type that drinkers of Normandy cider will be more than familiar with. Corked a little like champagne but without the lead bit on the top. It opened with a satisfying pop and fizzed audibly on pouring. There was a decent head originally, it quickly dispersed, leaving a thin white layer of fizz on top of the drink for the rest of the time I was imbibing, as you can see from the video.

If you’re a fan of super-light French ciders then La Galotière is not le cidre pour vous — it packs a reasonable 5% ABV punch. Its dry, a little like an Aspalls, but much hazier both in appearance and taste. There’s a complex mix of bittersharp and tannin, perhaps a bit of Dabinnet or whatever the French equivalent is.

There is a nice soft tannin balance, not too much acidity and just a little sweetness. Its nice and robust on the palate and well rounded, kind of oaky with a bit of smokiness to it. All in all a great cider to find serendipitously.

2013-05-11 by Charlie Harvey


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