Calvados Vigannerie (Dupont)

19/20 points "Revue des Vins", July 2009. Sometimes they call it "our reference" (Pierre Crisol of the gourmet standard work Gault & Millau), sometimes they call it a "remarkable distillate made from perfect fruits" (Pierre Crisol), and maybe they also call it simply "exquisite" (Christian Millau): And they always refer to this calvados.

And we as well must confess: There is hardly any other calvados that achieves this refined taste. Those who ONLY look for the familiar, sweet apple flavours are certainly better off with another product. However, the mild sweetness is almost always achieved by adding sugar.

But those of you who love the very elegant and sometimes slightly bitter flavours of the apple varieties Saint-Martin, Binet or Mettais (tiny apple varieties that are not eaten - the smaller the better!) so typical of calvados production, must definitely try this product. We think it is THE product in this area: a masterpiece that can look back onto 150 years of experience. This is not just craftsmanship, it's art.

Here's a tip for the real gourmets among you: after a truly excellent menu, serve your guests a ripe camembert with a piece of baguette and a calvados like this one (in a snifter) for a culinary experience that is hard to beat. For this, you do not need a star restaurant with astronomical prices (where our Réserve is occasionally offered at a price of 10 EUR per 2cl glass), which I think is complete nonsense and the reason why we Germans hardly ever enjoy a digestif at the restaurant.

All apples were harvested by hand, and all varieties of calvados are unfiltered and not stabilised by chilling to preserve the natural taste!

Almost all star restaurants in France offer this product: Taillevent, Faugeron, Arpège, Amphyclès, Jacques Cagna, Miraville, Port Alma, Le Divellec, La Tour d'Argent, Laurent, Carré des feuillant, Michel Rostang, Apicius, Le Jules Verne, Hôtel de Vigny, Pétrissans, Pierre Gagnaire.