Val de Rance Cru Breton Cidre Doux

Val de Rance is a scenic area in Brittany, France famous for the best cider – there are around 450 cidre producers and large apple orchards. Val de Rance is, also, a name of a cidery located in Pleudihen-sur-Rance (which is also known as Capitale du Cidre, the capitol of cidre) producing cidre, which I am going to review today. Their Cru Breton Cidre Doux has been awarded Medaille d’Or from the ‘Concours General Agricole’ in Paris in 2014.Company: Val de Rance
Place of Origin: Pleudihen-sur-Rance, Brittany, France
Apples: cider apples
ABV: 2%
Package type: 750ml green glass with crown cap
Recommended type of glass: flute

Appearance: pours a clear deep orange with a huge white head, which diminishes after only a few minutes.

Aroma/Nose: the nose is dominated by fresh wood notes with red and green apple skins and flesh to a lesser extent. Also, some sweetness and light sourness with a touch of pear.

Taste: It’s way too sweet with low acidity and refreshing flavour of red apple skins and flesh. The mid-palate is, again, dominated by wood notes, followed by moderate astringency on the tongue. The finish has medium to high astringency, again with a touch of bitterness.

Overall: I usually prefer Brut over Doux as I am not a fan of sweetness. But I hosted a friend, who has a sweet tooth, so I decided to purchase Doux for this evening. Interestingly, the Val de Rance Doux was too sweet even to my friend :-). I think the level of acidity is just too low to balance out the sweetness. Moreover, the taste of wood overpowers other flavours and tannins leave you with a feeling of dry mouth. The taste reminded me slightly of other mainstream cidre I reviewed previously, Loïc Raison Cidre Bouché Breton Brut, but the Val de Rance cidre tasted slightly richer. I think that Val de Rance Brut should be better for my liking. 3.5/6 

Availability: widely available. Masecori-Shop, Opily Jabko, Emadeinfrance, Beershop.cz, InCider Bar or Chai de l’amour.

Price: purchased locally from Karstadt-Charlottenburg in Berlin at 2.99 EUR.