Jalu
Fable Farm Fermentory in Barnard, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
Cider - Other Fruit Rotating|
Score
6.82
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Ingredients: apples, grapes, wild cultures of yeast + bacteria
A medley of foraged cider apples and Vermont grown grapes were used in the creation of this 2019 sparkling delight. 55% macerated cider and 45% white, red and grey grapes, this living apple grape wine brings a light and refreshing sparkle with nicely balanced cranberry-cherry notes to your table.
The foundation of this cuvée is a cider that fully fermented as a maceration and then was pressed off and aged in barrels for 9 months. By allowing juice to flow forth from the weight of the ground-up apples themselves, as well as the cider to ferment in the presence of it’s pomace, a more balanced and refined apple wine emerges. So soft and subtle this cider can become, that if left to macerate too long, it can express as apple-infused water. A perfect pair we thought, for some of the more austere and high acid wines we’ve shepherded along the way. So we blended an array of 2019 demijohn wines made from three different grapes grown on three Vermont vineyards a divided it up into three barrels: Frontenac Blanc, Frontenac Gris and St. Croix hailing from Ellison Estate, Lincoln Peak and Monroe Vineyards. After aging in barrels for three months, we then merged this “field blend” of grape wine - 1:1 - with our house cider maceration and out came Jalu, a Rainbow Body.
Upon bottling a tirage of fresh juice from the 2020 harvest was added for a secondary fermentation in bottle.
A medley of foraged cider apples and Vermont grown grapes were used in the creation of this 2019 sparkling delight. 55% macerated cider and 45% white, red and grey grapes, this living apple grape wine brings a light and refreshing sparkle with nicely balanced cranberry-cherry notes to your table.
The foundation of this cuvée is a cider that fully fermented as a maceration and then was pressed off and aged in barrels for 9 months. By allowing juice to flow forth from the weight of the ground-up apples themselves, as well as the cider to ferment in the presence of it’s pomace, a more balanced and refined apple wine emerges. So soft and subtle this cider can become, that if left to macerate too long, it can express as apple-infused water. A perfect pair we thought, for some of the more austere and high acid wines we’ve shepherded along the way. So we blended an array of 2019 demijohn wines made from three different grapes grown on three Vermont vineyards a divided it up into three barrels: Frontenac Blanc, Frontenac Gris and St. Croix hailing from Ellison Estate, Lincoln Peak and Monroe Vineyards. After aging in barrels for three months, we then merged this “field blend” of grape wine - 1:1 - with our house cider maceration and out came Jalu, a Rainbow Body.
Upon bottling a tirage of fresh juice from the 2020 harvest was added for a secondary fermentation in bottle.
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7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
750mL bottle, 2020-2021 vintage, drunk 2/24/24. Deep violet-purple-cranberry. Clear. Plentiful carbonation creating a pink head that rapidly fizzles to the edges. A big, rich, rather acidic mix of lactic and grape acidity. Cran-blueberry-grape notes with light wood tannin to slightly soften the force of the acidity. Very aromatic with juicy, tart, brett and malo-lactic apples on the end. Wow, this is way less acidic than I was expecting. Barrel character rounds and softens things with mild oak/wood tannin. A bit of smokey phenol throughout with rich red wine character and mild apple flesh with malo-lactic acidity being mellow and juicy throughout, with soft tartness. Tight carbonation, piquant sweetness, on the lighter side body-wise. Quite drinkable and approachable. The grapes grow a bit sweeter than I'd prefer, on the finish, as the bottle goes on. Very, very, very ambitious beverage and they've managed it quite well, though it still needs some work.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Feb 2024
at 21:00