Viuda De Angelon Sidra du Pera
This is my first Spanish perry. I'd been hearing about it, so when I saw a few bottles at my local beer store (the nice kind of beer store that has a fantastic cider selection) I had to pick one up.
You can find out about both the importer and the producers at the following websites:
http://www.cidersofspain.com/
http://www.sidraviudaangelonpomar.es/
And here's the official description:
VIUDA DE ANGELON SIDRA DE PERA: a sparkling off-dry perry (pear cider)
330 ml., 5.2% alcohol by volume
Produced by Sidra Viuda de Angelón, Nava, Principado de Asturias
In past centuries in Asturias, an ancient source of excellent cider, they pressed apples or pears. Viuda de Angelon has revived the lost tradition of pear cider to produce this longed-for nectar once again, using estate grown pears.
Appearance: brilliant, straw, bubbly
This perry pours with a mild head. It didn't stick around. The color looks like a lot of ciders with that fresh golden straw color. Brilliant and again very bubbly looking.
Aromas: pear, tart, strawberries
smells like fleshy pear for sure, a tiny bit of tartness in smell, approaching vinegar, but nbot there yet. Berries—strawberries specifically. Spring flowers
Sweetness/dryness: semi sweet
This is pleasantly semi-sweet, with a very fresh and natural sweetness.
Flavors and drinking experience: high acid, flora, sweet, floral
My first impression is how mild this is for a fermented fruit beverage from Asturias. I associate that style with really bold intense flavors, but this perry is more floral. with only aT tiny bit of brininess and acetic acid. The flavors are gently tropical and spicy with no tannins to speak of. Nice light zesty zippy body.
First I can taste the sweetness, which is bright and refreshing with yeasty notes, but two seconds later the warmer, lower notes hit. Its not super funky but there is a certain clean sweatiness to the flavor that's more than a bit exciting.
I had this cider with a fresh pepper and tomato salad, sweet corn, and faux chicken nuggets. These light foods complimented its mildness well.
Argus Ginger Perry
For another first, this is my first Argus beverage, but it won't be my last. Read about the company online at: http://www.arguscidery.com
Here's the official description.
ARGUS FERMENTABLES GINGER PERRY
Ginger Perry delivers a dry pear palate with a tart bite, finishing bright and a bit spicy at the end. Unpasteurized and unfiltered, Ginger Perry is free of back sweetening and added sugars. Best enjoyed ice cold.
Appearance: bright gold, very bubbly to look at, hazy
Aromas: ginger, cola
The ginger smell comes on quite strong. There's not a lot of detectable fruit.
Dryness/sweetness: off dry
This is very tart and off dry.
Flavors and drinking experience: tart, stony, tropical fruit
The Ginger Perry tastes extremely tart, astringent, bitter, and stony. Yum yum! There's lots of extremely bright fruit that blooms and blooms, but I don't detect a lot of pear notes. Its impossible to ignore the high acid but its pleasant.
The fruitiness tastes like pineapple, lime, coconut, with a really nice floral undertone. Not really any tannins, but plenty of extremely powerful bubbles. Not very pear or apple like but fun!
Daufresne Poiré
You can read about the perry and the other beverages by Cidrerie Daufresne on the importer website or the homepage. This bottle was shared with me by the kind folks at Wine Sellers Limited.
http://www.winesellersltd.com/wine/Normandy/Daufresne%20Cidrerie/Daufresne%20Poire%20(Perry)%20Cidre/NV.html
http://cidreriedaufresne.com/
Official description:
A perry pear is gritty, tannic and acidic, which makes it somewhat similar to a cider apple. But that is where the similarities end. Perry pear tannins tend to be rounder than those found in cider apples, and the pears used for perry have less malic acid than cider apples, resulting in a beverage that is less tart and more delicate. The Daufresne Poiré offers clear, sparkling and persistent effervescence and aromas. Tastes of fresh pear fruit, hints of melon and citrus, natural sediments in glass, rustic with a clean pure sweetness, balanced by refreshing acidity.
Appearance: warmly mellow straw, brilliant, bubbly
This cider looks deep and tannic with its deep and warm shade of gold. Its also going to be plenty bubbly!
Aromas: barny, sweet, fruity
This set of aromas is just classic French perry. It smells funky and farmy, but also sweet and fruity. But also, the perry smells like kola nuts. Smells wet and darkly sweet.
Sweetness/dryness: sweet
Very fruity sweetness
Flavors and drinking experience: plums, caramel, low acid
Though the aromas of this perry made me think of barns, the taste is anything but funky! This perry's sparkle is instantly surprising and pleasant. I find the flavors very quintessentially French in their fermentation style: fresh fruit, pear in a fleshy way, overripe apples, water, dark honey. I preferred sips to gulps. This is a perry to savor.
Interestingly, as this perry warmed up, the aromas bloomed into including some plum and even prune notes. Perry has low acid, but maybe some manageable levels of acetic acid.
I had this with breakfast for dinner and good friends (Phil and Jill who are frequently co-tasters and all around fabulous people). We had Phil's blueberry pancakes, roasted tomato halves with seasoned bread crumbs, and veggie bacon, all with real maple syrup of course. This perry is sweet and light but not simple, so it set off our breakfast selections in a delightful way.