2020 Patois Cider 'Quaker Run' Virginia, United States
2020 Patois Cider 'Quaker Run' Virginia, United States

2020 Patois Cider 'Quaker Run' Virginia, United States

$27.00

30% Roxbury Russet, 25% Ashmead’s Kernel, 19% Black Twig, 14% Grimes Golden, 12% Gold Rush from Quaker Run Orchard in Madison, VA. Clay loam with quartz and greenstone gravel, 950’ elevation.

Quaker Run is a former commercial orchard dating back to the 19th century. Current owners Tom and Debbie Flynn still maintain a few rows of mature apple trees.

Season:

2020 taught us why most of the old commercial orchard sites east of the Blue Ridge were planted below 1000’ elevation: late spring frosts claimed almost all fruit in the mountains but spared those further down the slopes.

A leaner growing season and additional rains around harvest shifted our cellar techniques: instead of producing a still cider as in 2019, we bottled before sugar depletion to capture energy and used longer lees contact in bottle to build texture.

Fermentation/Development:

Tom and Patrick picked the apples from early September to mid October. Fruit was left outside in bins for two to four weeks to further concentrate.

A continuous fermentation carried through harvest as each variety ripened: sorted fruit soaked overnight on skins before being pressed into a neutral 350 L French oak barrel, poly tank, and glass demijohns. These various components were then blended to finish fermenting in bottle.

Bottles aged on lees for sixteen months before being riddled and disgorged by hand in early May 2022. No SO2 additions were made.

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