41% ABV, 700 ml
A blend of calvados, the minimum aged 18 years. Cider apples from Pays d’Auge area. Double distillation over wood fire. Aged and blended in old French oak casks. Bottled at the distillery and distilled by the family Groult during the twentieth century.
"An honest, benchmark Pays d’Auge blend, the Aged 18 Years is deep amber in color with a big, expressive nose. Warm aromas of buttery caramelized apples, which then give way to deeper, complex aromas of worn leather, beeswax, and fallen leaves. In the mouth, silky and expansive, with an underlying earthiness, balanced by juicy freshness and baking spice on the midpalate. But it’s the long finish, dry and savory, with profound, autumnal notes of apple peel, fruit stem, dark chocolate, and wet stone that’s extraordinary for a Calvados of this age. Replaces Roger Groult’s classic Vénérable bottling in the market. "
Jason Wilson, Vinous, 96 Points
A family estate spanning five generations, the “Clos de la Hurvaniere” lies in the heart of the Pays d’Auge. Planted on flint clay covered with fine, silty soil, the Groult’s 65 acres of orchards are a mix of traditional "high-stem" apple trees and "half-stem" apple trees, which yield 30 varieties of apples, which are either sweet, bitter-sweet or acidic.
From October to December all the cider apples are sorted by hand and cleaned before being pressed. 600 tons are pressed each year on average; 1 ton of apples can produce 700 liters of cider for distillation.
Apple ciders (6-7%vol.) are distilled after one year of slow and natural fermentation on fine lees. The first heating of cider in our alembic pot-stills produces the intermediary alcohol named “petite eau” at 30% vol. The second distillation is the “proper heating” (“la bonne chauffe”) and produces Calvados at 70% vol. on average. In both of distillations they separate heads and the tails to keep only the best part of the distillation, “le coeur de chauffe”.
Pioneers in long-aging their Calvados, a separate cellar has been built and dedicated to each generation of the family, giving a feeling of continuity, consistency, and quality when touring the estate. Groult ages their Calvados only in very old oak barrels (most of them are more than 100 year old) to focus on the fruit taste. Groult has more than 350 barrels in their cellars. Barrels are never totally empty to keep roots of very old Calvados for each blend. The age mentioned on the label corresponds to the youngest vintage that was used for the blend.
Bottling is also done at the domain, without chill filtration, in order to preserve the maximum of aromas and sweetness in the Calvados.
