2017 Lesuffleur La Folletière Cider

This cider is produced in Normandy from heritage orchards featuring high-density, low‐branched trees grown on flint and clay over chalk soils. Made from up to 12 carefully selected apple varieties—and in some cases incorporating pear varieties—the blend is engineered to balance bittersweet, bitter, and acidic (sharp) apple characteristics. Reported proportions include approximately 40% bittersweet, 35% bitter, and 25% sharp apples, although some formulations target a blend closer to 50% bittersweet, 25% bitter, and 25% acidic apples. Fermentation is carried out with indigenous yeasts using traditional methods such as the méthode ancestrale or keeving, and the cider undergoes extended bottle aging on fine lees (anywhere from 30 months to 3 years) with a typical dosage of 35–40 g/L. Most expressions are bottled at around 7.1–7.2% ABV, while a variant produced by Benoit using a Champagne-style method is crafted at 5% ABV. Producers such as Domaine Lesuffleur exemplify these traditional apple cultivation and cider‐making practices.