Earthy apple peel and oak makes up the aroma of this cider.
The colour is a deep light bronze with little to no carbonation, but a great taste. It’s a tad watery (otherwise it would have been a 5/5). The aroma really comes through with the taste.
It’s a medium to full-bodied cider that’s made with natural yeast and matured in oak - and you can tell, it’s bloody lovely. It has a mellow entry on the palate and swills around leaving a very pleasenf aftertaste with a kick of bitter sweet apple. It’s a medium cider for sure and finely balanced. I’ve had the Sheppy’s own Vintage 7.4% and it’s slightly different to this cider, it’s not as fizzy for sure.
The length is pretty decent, medium-long and it lingers with satisfying aplomb. It’s verging on being a still cider and it works in this instance as sometimes some fizz can ruin a vintage effort.
At 7.4%ABV you couldn’t bang these down all night - and you wouldn’t want to - its to be savoured, this cider. It’s really go well with a decent cheese, ploughman’s lunch and/or a decent pork pie with some pickle or mustard.
4/5. And I’ll be back to buy this one again.
Reviewed on 29 May 2025
