Bress Cider

Bress Harcourt Valley Cider Brut

The Name

Whilst living and winemaking in the Yarra Valley, I discovered the joys of breeding and showing chickens. This passion led me to visit France in 1996 to witness first hand their traditional methods of breeding chickens and I dedicate our wines to the famous chickens of France and what they represent – artisan production using traditional, age old methods.

The Orchards

The fruit for this Harcourt Valley Cider was grown solely on the Bress property.  Our Cider apple trees are over 40 years old and we have nine different cider varieties planted. We also have four varieties of Perry Pear, which is the pear equivalent of the cider apple and these trees are 30 years old.  We farm our orchard biodynamically in which we do not use artificial fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides.  

Cider making

My cider making belief is that good fruit should be treated gently and with minimal intervention.  The Bress Harcourt Valley Cider was treated in this manner.  The apples and pears were milled and then gently basket pressed.  Fermentation was conducted by only indigenous yeast strains in both old oak hogsheads and stainless steel tanks. Post fermentation blending of the different cider cuvees resulted in a blend of 80% cider apple varieties and 20% Perry pears.  As this cider is made in a Normandy style, the blend was tiraged to induce a second fermentation in the bottle using the same techniques as those used in making Champagne.  The cider then spent 6 months on lees.  The cider was disgorged and crown sealed using minimal preservatives.

Tasting Notes

Colour:

A vibrant and pristine medium golden straw with green tinges and a slight cloudiness.

Aroma:

The cider offers an array of aromas of freshly cut apples, green skinned fruits and bread like yeastiness.

Palate:

The cider has a lovely creaminess and fullness which presents a range of flavours along the palate making this cider quite complex.

When to serve

This cider can be served chilled at the end of afternoon, as an aperitif prior to a meal and is a superb accompaniment to a range of pork dishes especially roast pork with crackling and apple sauce.

Please enjoy this traditionally made, hand crafted cider but please be careful. This cider unlike commercially available cider is 10% alcohol and is very easy to drink. You have been cautioned. Download our comprehensive cider booklet "The Farmhouse Ciders of Harcourt"