Eric Bordelet “Henri Bernard Beudin” 18yr Calvados 53%

This is another pickup I snagged on a whim a couple years ago…Instead of buying lotto scratch-offs, I purchase random bottles of booze I know nothing about. At least I can mix bad booze and hedge against a total loss, I guess. Anyways, Eric Bordelet is an apple dude and before buying this 18yr calvados I was familiar with his ciders (Normandy, France), which are really tasty. Bordelet sourced this cask from Henri Bernard Beudin. It was distilled in 1997 and aged in used Chenin Blanc barrels. I can’t find much info on HBB so I’m guessing he’s a small farm producer…probably doesn’t even have a Yelp or Facebook page! US distro for this bottle was through PM Spirits and Nicolas Palazzi. It was priced around $120 for a 375ml – ouch!

Eric Bordelet “Henri Bernard Beudin” 18yr Calvados 53%

Nose: Sweet apples pop along with a sourish acidic note (if that makes sense) and woody wood…confectionary sugar and candy, think smarties…some sweet floral notes like honeysuckle and a little floral undergrowth, stems and such

Palate: apples (obviously), but also pears and pear skin – the juicy Royal Verano pears from Harry and David gift baskets…the sourish note from the nose translates (I have no idea what to otherwise call it) along with powerful oak (jeeze, chill oak, chill)…a tart, candy-like quality lingers in the background 

Finish: the mouthfeel on this is velvety great and the great flavor lingers for a while…

Thoughts

When people say “it’s like comparing apples to oranges” around me, the saying doesn’t have its intended effect – I am incredibly partial to apples…It’s not even a contest. For what its worth, I ate an organic Fuji apple right before pouring this, to you know, set the mood. This 18 year old calvados tastes exactly like what you’d think good apple booze would taste like – it’s delicious. Naturally, I’m partial to it. I really am. I dig this, and, but for the oak, which is a little out of balance, it’d be an easy A. But, I can’t ignore the oak…and while I’m complaining, I’ll knock off some points for the price…so I’m giving this…

Grade: A Minus

Just because I gave this an A Minus doesn’t mean I’m not going to buy another bottle of this...If I can find one that is...