The bottle absolutely explodes upon uncapping, necessitating a swift clean-up operation which doesn’t dispose me well to this. When i finally pour a glass, it pours a very hazy and bubbly citrine. The nose is tangy, orangey, a little oaken, and varietal. It hits the mouth with immediate complexity - deliciously bittersharp apple, a concurrent pulpiness, and a sparkling finish where the citric qualities mingle with the oak to yield sherbet, lime, and quinine. Unfortunately the foamy carbonation irritates in the mouth and pushes the sherbet into more unwanted territory of tangfastics. On the other hand, fresh strawberry is a welcome addition to the fruity palate, and the intense tannins help to wrest back a little organic mouthfeel away from the fizz. The nose takes on coconut oil further down the glass. This is rich-bodied in alcohol and texture, passing for stronger than 6%. A possible culprit for this is the effect of the port barrels, yielding an unusually refined, delicate, and absolutely delicious oak pervasion. This cider’s many virtues as an exemplar of the varietal and as a very tasty and complex drop in its own right are needlessly detrimented, to the point of distraction, by the carbonation. Were this still, it’d be a 5-star cider. But with the fizz, i feel like i’m having to fight my way through to the flavour.
Reviewed on 21 Aug 2026
