At 24 years old, the business school graduate Cyprien Lireux senses a deep feeling of missing out on something in his life. His obsession in mind: to return to what has fascinated him and driven him since childhood, working with the land in his hometown, Normandy, France.
Etienne Fournet, the cellar master of Domaine des Cinq Autels, turns Cyprien's dream into a reality while passing on his passion to him. It will be cider – something Cyprien had already experimented with alongside his father and grandfather – and it feels like the obvious choice.
His closeness to nature, the terroir, and tradition shape his work with a philosophical approach.
The apples scattered throughout the Pays d'Auge region. Manual harvest, untreated traditional high-stem orchards. Cyprien matures his apples for a month after harvest to achieve optimal maturity, reduce nitrogen levels, turn fruit starch into sugar, and develop some natural yeast!
In the cellar, long maturation in wooden vats before pressing, with slow fermentation with native yeasts to fully express the aromatic potential of the fruits. Natural carbonation, and of course, no added sulfites or other additives. His passion does not stop him from making only Cider, but also Perry and other co-fermented wines.
Thus, these gathered fruits continue to stay alive and testify in bottles of the heritage left by their ancestors. Cyprien is convinced that one hand, there is a vintage effect on the fruits, and the other hand, that Cider and Perry can age like fine wines. His cuvées are all vintage-dated.
These are something that wine lovers should not miss!
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