I've reviewed Calvados before - at [ Ссылка ] and [ Ссылка ] - but this time is a little special. Not only do I finally get to discuss Calva from my beloved Domfrontais region, but all of these are pretty old. What we've got here is a double head-to-head between two extremely old brandies from the region best known for high dosages of pears in addition to apples, as well as two fairly old brandies from the more prestigious (and exclusively pot-distilled) Pays d'Auge area. Old Calvados in general tends to get ignored at the moment compared to Armagnac or Cognac, and doubly so for Domfrontais, so my going theory is that some of these should be killer good deals. Let's test that out...
- Lemorton Vieux Calvados Domfrontais 1989 (Dom. Didier Lemorton, Mantilly, Orne; bottled 3/21, circa 32 years old; 40% ABV), 84/100
- Lemorton Vieux Calvados Domfrontais 1962 (Dom. Didier Lemorton, Mantilly, Orne; bottled 3/08, circa 46 years old; 40% ABV), 82-/100
- Roger Groult 18 Year Old Calvados Pays d'Auge (Clos de la Hurvanière, Saint-Cyr-du-Ronceray, Calvados; bottled circa 2019; 41% ABV), 85+/100
- Adrien Camut 18 Year Old Calvados Pays d'Auge (Dom. de Semainville, La Lande-Saint-Léger, Eure; bottled circa 2019; 41%), 87+/100
So, yes and no. What's hobbling these, especially the Lemortons, is the low strength, albeit the 1962 is just too dang old to begin with. The Groult is much better in general and I'm guessing that extra 1%, helps, but it too needs still less dilution before bottling. (Still good, though, and I get the strange sense mezcal folks would be into it). I'll say the same about the Camut as well, although in every other way it's on another planet. Camut 18 takes time to get going - don't dismiss this one on first sip!! - but when something's 18 years old, has taken on a ton of oak, and *still* feels this young, I sit up and take notice. This one's still a banger (albeit expensive), but a still older, brut de fût bottling would absolutely rule the planet.
Extra special thanks to my Different Spirits on Patreon ([ Ссылка ]) -
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