Calico House Bottling Co. Domaine De Merval 24-Year Single Barrel Calvados

About Domaine De Merval: Domaine de Merval is nestled about 120 km northwest of Paris in the heart of the Pays de Bray region of Normandy, on the site of a 17th century castle. This area provides the location for Lycée du Pays de Bray, a school that secondary students attend to obtain practical experience in agricultural industries, including, but not limited to, apple cultivation and the subsequent production of jellies, jams, cider, pommeau and—you guessed it—Calvados.

The adjoining farm serves as the school’s technical and educational support. Covering 120 hectares (~296 acres) of land, it contains meadows, grain fields and orchards boasting 420 unique varieties of heirloom apples, as well as 100 Norman dairy cows (98% of the school’s revenue is made from cheese). Most importantly for the purposes of this bottling, 12 hectares (~29 acres) of land are planted as cider orchards. Every aspect of Calvados production takes place at the domaine's cidery and attached distillery, and only in years where the orchards have produced enough apples to allocate to a distillation project- meaning in some years, no Calvados is produced at all.

CALICO HOUSE DOMAINE DE MERVAL 24 YEAR SINGLE BARREL CALVADOS

Hand-selected by Will and the Small Victories team on a visit to the domaine in October 2024, this barrel was distilled in the year 2000, ten years after Lycée du Pays de Bray was officially founded. It contains no coloring, no filtering and no additives. It yielded fewer than 300 bottles, all of which were bottled at cask strength (98.4 proof).

TASTING NOTES: Fascinatingly layered and surprisingly dense for Calvados, this single barrel is fruity, oxidative, waxy and long. Unlike many historic Calvados releases, old Merval shows its power first and its complexity through length on the palate. Its 100+ varietal co-ferment and small-pot-still distillation give it a weight and mystery that a larger or more commercial distillery would never dream of.