Manoir de Montreuil Reserve Pays d'Auge Calvados

The calvados is a golden amber color. The very pretty nose offers up tart apple fruit an just a hint of wood spice. On the palate, it shows up medium to light bodied with lots of almost crisp apple fruit and a light spiciness. This is no powerhouse Calvados, but one built for delicacy. The long finish just emphasizes its great finesse. D&M Tasting Notes

Giard is one of the grand old names in the Pays d'Auge appellation of Calvados. Roger Giard, now in his eighties, retired about fifteen years ago and handed the reigns of the Domaine de Montreuil to his son Patrice, who now directs the property along with his wife Michelle. The Giards have traced their family's history back twelve generations to the 1700's.

The family has 30 hectares (74 acres) of orchards, planted entirely in the traditional, free-standing haute-tige method, making for a total of about 3,000 trees. Having haute-tige trees serves a double purpose for Giard in that his 200 cows are free to graze within the orchard. They eat the lush grass, aerate the soil with their weight and enrich the soil with their dung. It's a natural cycle that allows the family to work without any fertilizers. In August the cows are removed from the orchards so that they don't eat any of the apples as they begin to fall from the trees. Charles Neal, Importer