Maison Hérout "Amour d’Hérout Brut" Cider, Normandy, France NV

FROM EUROPEAN CELLARS:

THE CIDER: The cider Amour d’Hérout brut is a Cider from Normandy IGP produced in the respect of tradition without pasteurization or added sugar. It is 100% pure organic cider apple juice, without chemical treatment on the tree, the fruit or the meadow! Amour d’Hérout cider cultivates natural French elegance: simple, creative and refined. Easy to drink, it will seduce amateurs and connoisseurs alike and speak to them of love, passionately, but always with style and lightness!

THE PRODUCER: When Auguste Hérout and Marie-Thérèse Quétier-Hérout established Maison Hérout, they brought together two families that had been involved in the cider trade. In the decades after founding their estate, Auguste and Marie-Thérèse revitalized their orchards with a preference for the traditional cultivars of the Cotentin – Petit Amer, Binet Rouge, Cartigny, Clos Renaux, Doux Lozon, Feuillard, Belle Fille de la Manche among others. What makes these cultivars unique is their small size, thick skins, and a higher percentage of fruit classified as bitter-sweet and acidic. Of all the ciders of France, those from the Cotentin and Maison Hérout are famous for their gastronomic qualities, where tannin and acidity are balanced with fruit. At Maison Hérout, you can taste ciders aged in bottle for decades, gaining increasing complexity similar to the finest wines. They pair wonderfully with the local shellfish and rich cheeses. We’d even recommend them with savory crepes, no matter the time of day.

Marie-Agnès Hérout followed in her parent’s footsteps in maintaining the reputation of her family’s ciders and calvados. She oversaw the conversion to certified organic agriculture and the creation of the Cotentin AOC. With no clear succession but a heritage worth preserving, she has entrusted her family’s property to childhood friends who grew up appreciating the uniqueness of Cotentin and are dedicated to safeguarding Maison Hérout as the preeminent producer in the AOC. Jean-Baptiste Aulombard now manages the estate with assistance from Simon Dufour and Maxime Delauney. The transition couldn’t have gone more smoothly, and the ciders have not missed a beat. These are some of the most complex, satisfying, and, dare we say, vinous ciders we’ve ever tasted. And their calvados are so sublime that we changed our import license to bring them to you.