It will shine differently with the only cider house in Perpignan
Just as we’re used to microbreweries making lagers and ales and the sophisticated world of wine, the emergence of La Cidrerie in Perpignan is a glitter bomb effect down our southern throats. At the start of this mini-revolution, this couple intends to get you hooked on this unmissable bubble.
We will see them all! Cedar in the south of France. And why not chouchen, sauerkraut and braised lamb. Away from all this brutality of the greedy mouths of Breton, Alsace and Norman, the only Perpignan cider house has been secretly settled in the Bas-Vernet region for two years. Not that they’re hiding for fear of reprisals from sweet Falern fanatics, but rather, this microcider house is opening its wings to produce ciders that bear no resemblance to what you often taste. The reason is simple, the couple behind this brilliant mini-revolution are oenologists. When it comes to the craft of viticulture to the rescue of bipolar produce, sweet or raw, cider just doesn’t exist around the whole tart and chipped bowl. It breathes newness.
Neither soft nor raw
Two vines of La Cidrerie, Pectin and Caps
We will not lie to each other, we do not intend to be chauvinistic, but the main cider around the galette des rois or savory galettes is beautiful and it is more of a habit – we even offer it for all the royal crowns bought in some bakeries – only a real taste passion. Often the taste of dried hay or worse, cow dung or backyard stalls jumps out at us.
All this is food for thought for refined Mediterranean noses accustomed to subtler flavors. A reflection of Agnès Dechanteloup and her companion Gabriel Juillaud at the origin of La Cidrerie. A meeting made around the thing that brings them together… Wine? He trained as an agricultural engineer and then graduated in oenology in Dijon. Originally from Elne, the city where he met Gabriel, he graduated in chemistry and studied oenology at the same school. Having an opportunity for Gabriel to return to the Pyrenees-Orientales, at Clos des Fees, to Herve Bizeul as cellar master during his imprisonment, Agnes decided to join him as he prepared to prove himself in the Wine Region of Georgia. But covid decided otherwise. Today, since December 2020, he has been working at Domaine Rière Cadène and he at Mas Baux in Canet. Both properties are organic and they insist on living up to their vision of protecting the land, the creatures and the quality produce that goes with it.
Grapes by day, cedar by night
An elegant packaging
To simplify, during the day it is the vineyard and all the other duties that come with it, and in the evening they work on the cider in their garage. They experiment, the alchemists of fermentation, the alchemist of transformation, relegating cider to dusty mythology from the swamps of penniless Normans and regionalist Bretons.
They thought carefully about the product they wanted to develop. Closer to sparkling wine, a real gourmet juice, fruity and delicious in taste, with two very special glasses. There was no raw material. They are provided by woodworker Pierre Giovanelli from Ille-sur-Têt. Of course, organically, they buy apples that have already been pressed and not filtered, then they give this very opaque juice.
don’t take a knife
Put in oak barrels, this is where their training as chemists in search of the perfect fermentation comes into play. The first year, a sudden rapid fermentation took them by surprise, bottling and sealing all 1,000 bottles in two consecutive nights. True fashion for the pair, this well-balanced fermentation will produce a less aggressive sparkle than the Tonton de Douarnenez juice. The fruit of the two tubs did not arrive thanks to prayers. Apple knife apple, Goldrush, Opal, are sweeter and therefore carry a higher alcohol content. Get democratized and dusted, it won’t get away from a southern marriage. This is a wonderful company.
Cedar baba recipe
Grandpa rum but cider? Vade retro! To try is perhaps to accept it. Here is the recipe to consult @mariacleofood (instagram).
Ingredients for eight little grandfathers:
100 g of sugar, 1 bag of yeast, 3 eggs, 150 g of flour, 60 g of butter.
For syrup: 125 g of sugar, 20 cl of water and 10 cl of pectin.
For apples: 4 apples, 40 g of sugar, 5 cl of cream, 20 g of butter.
Preparation: Heat the oven to 180°, mix sugar and egg, add melted butter, baking powder, flour, mix well. Pour into separate molds, bake for 10 minutes, then reduce to 150°, another 10 minutes. For the syrup, in a saucepan, bring the water, sugar and pectin to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes until the syrup slightly coats the spatula. Soak the baba in syrup. Form the apples into balls or cubes, put them in a pan with sugar and a little water, caramelize them, then slowly add the hot cream. When the texture is uniform, add the butter, mix well until the apples are coated. Taste it!
