Description

Domaine du Tertre, producing both cider and small amounts of Calvados, is overseen by brothers Michel and Hubert Havard. In 2017, they became certified organic for their 45+ acres of orchard farming and their cider production. They maintain similar practices for their calvados but forgo certification due to the small size of production. Du Tertre works with 40 different apple varietals, all of which see zero chemical treatment and are harvested from “hautes tiges” (high branch), lower-yielding trees. Ciders are fermented for about a year in used oak and distilled only when the juice is totally free of sugar. Distillation takes place on a ten-plate Orthez column still by a traveling distiller. Age varies by cask but is usually between 15 and 20 years. Always bottled at cask strength with no additives.

The Domaine du Tertre is located on the edge of Normandy and the agricultural region of Perche in the foothills of the AMAIN Mountains.

The geological structure of the soils is argilocalcareous to the south and argilo siliceous to thenorth. The region is wooded and grazing countryside and the fruit tree plantations for making apple and pear ciders date back to the Middle Ages.

The 17th century marked a turning point for the codification of fruit trees (apple and pear trees),the development of apple and pear ciders, and the creation of brandy under the influence of COLBERT.

CHOICE OF THE FRUIT TREES VARIETIES :

Our choice was  guided by the nature of the orchard soils and the list of varieties recommended by the INAO (National Institute of Origin and Quality).

Apple and pear trees are driven exclusively into tall standard trees.

Trees are aligned and spaced 12 m apart in meadows, which are maintained by cattle or a haying.. Trees are cut regularly at the end of winter. They receive no phytosanitary treatment, or chemical fertilizers.

Orchards and cidriculture workshops are conducted in organic agriculture and are controlled by ECOCERT.

HARVEST AND PRESSING :

Between the end of September and mid- December, depending on their maturity, fruit is hand-picked, stored in wooden palox by variety, then sorted and washed. Only the best fruit is kept.

Pressing occurs between the end of October and the end of December. The fruit is crushed with a grater. The pulp is placed in jute cloths separated by wooden crates. The juice is extracted using a SAMBRON packet press The resulting musts are stored in stainless steel vessels with floating lids so that sedimentation and fermentation can occur.