Calvados Michel Huard-Guillouet

The Huard family has lived on the Le Pertyer property in the Suisse Normand of Normandy for seven generations; Jean-Francois Guillouet took over in 2012 when his grandfather Michel passed away. Nearly 1,800 trees on standard rootstock (haute-tige) grace the fifteen-hectare farm, which is considered the most admired in the AOC Calvados appellation. The soil is loamy, composed of an ideal combination of silt and clay, and about thirty varieties of apples are grown on the property, predominantly from the sweet and bittersweet categories. Jean-Francois ferments and ages his cider for eight to twelve months before it is single distilled in a traveling, wood-fired column still. The spirits then go into large, elongated casks (stained black by time) or well-seasoned 400-liter casks ideal for developing complex flavor.