Julien Fremont – Introduction
Julien Fremont is a cider and Calvados maker from Normandy who makes cider the same way that his family has made it since the early 1700s – and using the same beautiful wooden press that the family has owned since that time. The only differences between the old way and Julien’s way is that he prefers dry cider and the traditional approach was to make sweet cider in this region.
Julien tends his orchard using organic and biodynamic principles. Cows graze between the trees to keep the ground cover healthy.
After Fremont hand-harvests the apples they are carried to the loft in the large, ancient building that dominates the farm using a ‘home grown’ pulley system of little buckets that carry them upwards.
Here Fremont ‘cures’ them for at least a month and sometimes for many months so that the flavours concentrate as the apples dry out. This dramatically reduces the juice yield when the apples are finally pressed but significantly improves the flavour of the cider.
We find his ciders immensely satisfying and beautifully crafted and he uses no additions. No sulphites are added at any time. There are also some oxidative notes to his cider as the wooden barrels he uses are over 100 years old. This adds even more complexity to the finished product.
Julien Frémont Cidre Brut Par Nature 2022
This enticing cider begins with a very slow natural fermentation of the juice during the cold Normandy autumn and winter. The cider is then bottled and continues fermenting in the bottle until the sugar is fermented out. This usually results in an alcohol level between 5.5% and 6.1% and the current batch is 5.0%.
Unlike many of the cider producers who display the Pays d’Auge appellation of their labels, Julien deliberately sits outside the appellation because it requires the cider to be semi-sweet, and he likes his cider to be drier than required by the appellation authorities. He also does not use systemic sprays, instead opting for organic and biodynamic farming as well as natural fermentation of the juice rather than adding foreign yeasts.
One writer says about this cider:
“Very generous on the palate, incredibly quaffable, with assertive sparkle at first that quickly calms down in the glass; the yeasty muskiness hanging around the fringe of this wine gives it the charm of an Alpine cheese of sorts. Outstanding!”
This cider has a soft fine bead and good acidity and is very dry, invigorating, digestible and thirst-quenching. Julien recommends it with fish, poultry cooked with cream or soft raw milk cheeses.
RRP: $45
Julien Frémont Cidre Silex 2022
Julien Frémont makes two special ciders from different terroirs. This one (Silex) is made from apples picked from trees that grow in flint (silex in French) soils on the higher slopes above the house where the ground is littered with flint”cailloux” (small rocks).
Here his cows graze contentedly on the grass that grows between the trees and directly provide the manure to keep the soil fertile and vibrant.
The cider reflects the minerality of the soils – it is a true “cider of terroir” because there are no additions whatsoever. Once the apples have spent some time in the attic to concentrate the flavours, they are crushed and the juice is transferred to large vats to ferment spontaneously. We believe that it is the best version of this cider he has ever made!
This year it is particularly delicious due to the weather during the growing season. We are very impressed with it – it will be great to have it around this spring and summer!
RRP: $42 (SOLD OUT)
Julien Frémont Cidre Argile 2020
Julien makes two special ciders from different terroirs. This one is made from apples picked from trees that grow in clay soils on the lower slopes near the road that runs in front of the house. Here the clay is quite deep and is packed with minerality leading to very healthy trees due to the good drainage.
As with the silex above, this cider reflects the minerality of the soils – it is a true “cider of terroir” because there are no additions whatsoever. Once the apples have spent some time in the attic to concentrate the flavours, they are crushed and the juice is transferred to large vats to ferment spontaneously.
This year it has a delightful hint of sweetness without being overtly sweet. It also has a tiny tang of refreshing bitterness at the end of the palate.
RRP: $36 (SOLD OUT)
Julien Frémont Fermier 2020
This is an extraordinary entry into the Frémont range of cuvées. Julien has become more and more attracted to the ancient methods used by his family for producing ciders and is slowly returning to those methods.
Unlike many of the cider producers who display the Pays d’Auge appellation of their labels, Julien deliberately sits outside the appellation because it requires the cider to be semi-sweet, and he likes his cider to be drier than required by the appellation authorities. He also does not use systemic sprays, instead opting for organic and biodynamic farming as well as natural fermentation of the juice rather than adding foreign yeasts.
In the case of the Fermier he picks the apples by hand making many passes through the orchard to ensure that the apples are in the exact stage of ripeness that he requires. He then stores the apples in the attic (see the photo above of the pulley system he still uses) for an incredible 2 months to dry the apples out and concentrate the flavours. It also significantly reduces the yield as much of the juice evaporates during this process.
However the process has resulted in a cider of incredible length and concentrated flavours. It also matches with a wide range of foods.
It is a great cider!
RRP: $37 (SOLD OUT)
Julien Frémont Pomme de Paille 2018
This cider has been made in the same way as the others – that is spending time in the attic to concentrate the flavours.
For this cider, however, Julien has returned to the 1700s and crushed the apples but left them with their red skins as they did originally. This extracts the colour and flavour from the skins in a technique remarkable similar to that used to make orange wines.
He then presses the pulp but instead of using cloth in the press he has returned to the ancient method of using organic straw which imparts its own mild nuances to the flavour and aroma of the cider. As always he adds no foreign yeasts and leaves it to the yeasts on the apples to do the work of converting the sugar to alcohol.
The result is a clean, long-lasting flavour that is a pleasure to experience.
RRP: $46 (SOLD OUT)
Julien Frémont Poiré 2022
Julien makes his pear cider in exactly the same way as his apple cider. The pears are hand-harvested and then placed in the attic to dry out for a few weeks to concentrate the flavour.
Following the drying out process they are pressed using the ancient press that has been in the family for generations. The juice is then left to ferment naturally before being aged in very old barrels.
This is a fine cider with lively bubbles, an elegant pear taste and a long, lingering finish.
We only have a small allocation of this tasty drink so it will not last very long.
RRP: $49 (SOLD OUT)
Julien Fremont Piterne Cidre NV
Piterne is named for an old Norman legend, like a presence that lives in farms, presses and apple attics. It is a blend of two vintages of ciders, 2021 and 2022, with the apples from both years, as usual, aged in the attic above the cider press and aging rooms for some time prior to pressing.
The component from 2021 was aged until fully fermented for one year in a 400 litre Calvados barrel, still rich in Calvados tannins. It was then assembled with still fermenting juice from 2022 in a 50/50 assembly.
Julien says the power and bitterness comes from the very good 2021 vintage and the tension and acidity from 2022. It is a very intense cider, albeit like all his drinks, with only a gentle fizz. It’s 9.9% ABV. Very limited.
RRP: $54 (SOLD OUT)
Julien Fremont Quévrue Cidre 2021
The juice for Quévrue comes from plots close to the forest of Quévrue at the back of the property, where he has bittersweet varieties planted. It was macerated then fermented and aged for 8 months in an amphora which was made in Impruneta, a town just south of Florence in Italy.
Julien’s translated description is that “It has become an apple wine with silky tannins, a fine bead and with finesse and great length on the palate”. He recommends drinking it with Livarot cheese (not unexpectedly given he is 10 minutes’ drive from the town of Livarot) but you could substitute other strong washed-rind cows milk cheeses. He also suggests spicy food. We agree with that too. Very limited
RRP: $52 (SOLD OUT)
Julien Frémont Réserve Calvados AOC
The Fremont Calvados label might look a bit rustic, but there is nothing rustic about what is inside the bottle.
It is the most elegant, smooth, flavoursome Calvados that we have ever tried. Despite the 42% alcohol there is no hot burning sensation in the throat with this drink, just a smooth, supple and immensely satisfying experience.
Julien’s family has been distilling Calvados from the cider juice for hundreds of years. In the old building there are registered alambic stills dating back many years. This Calvados is typical of the style produced in the Pays d’Auge region but all the better for being produced from organic apples!
This Calvados is labelled as Réserve which means that, by law, it must have been matured for at least three years in old wooden barrels.
RRP: 500 mls $133 (SOLD OUT)
Julien Fremont Pommeau Aperitif
Pommeau is a blend of unfermented apple juice (75%) and a very powerful Calvados (62% ABV). It spent 8 years in barrel. It is very fragrant, with lovely cooked-apple bitterness and a great length in the mouth.
Typically an aperitif in Normandy it can be drunk neat over ice or mixed with something sparkling. We’re sure it could be the basis of some delicious cocktails too. The bottles are 700 ml and it is 18% ABV. Very limited.
RRP: $77 (SOLD OUT)
You can check whether we currently have any Fremont ciders or Calvados on our Buy Natural Wines page here.
You can read what Chambers Street in New York has to say about Julien here.
