TN: 2003 Victor Gontier Calvados Domfrontais Vieille Réserve

  • 2003 Victor Gontier Calvados Domfrontais Vieille Réserve - France, Normandy, Calvados Domfrontais (1/12/2021)
    Perfectly ripe pear with a touch of crispy apple

Long, warm, finish

Gorgeous Calvados.

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks to George Hejna I’m now very much into Calvados (though it was with an extraordinary older auction purchase of his, a 1974, I believe? Can’t find the photo!) so I recently purchased two bottles of Chateau du Breuil Calvados Pays d’Auge 20 years old, and it’s quite nice - a bit lighter and more apple-y in profile, showing it is ‘only’ 20 years old, instead of 50 or so. I’ll definitely stay on the lookout for the Gontier as well as others, since Calvados is not exactly ‘popular’ but I love it.

Good luck. I’ve never found it in the US and got mine from The Whiskey Exchange in London

Coincidentally I poured some for friends last night as a parting Rosh Hashonah-y drink (apples you know) and all of of them loved it generally prefacing their comments with “I don’t usually like this sort of thing but this is delicious!”

As to how I knew to look for it that goes back to 1985 when a college friend and I were driving around France and stopped at a shop in Normandy. I had heard of Calvados and picked up a bottle of the 1976 Gontier off the shelf, holding onto it for another 10 years before deciding (without expectation of much pleasure) that it was time I got it over with and opened it. I was shocked at how good it was and spent the next 20 years trying to find more.

Based on wine-searcher it seems most of it is exported to Australia for some reason.