DOMAINE DU COQUEREL
The gold of our House are our aged Calvados, some of which are over 70 years old.
History
2014
The third generation joins the family distillery. Pierre Martin Neuhaus launches in 2015 Normindia Gin and Coquerel calvados The Cask Finish Collection range.
1996
Jean-François Martin buys back Coquerel distillery from the English spirits giant after working there for several years.
1991
United Distillers, now Diageo, acquires Coquerel distillery.
1971 - 90
François Martin partnered with the company Asbach & Cie to acquire Coquerel distillery. During the first years, they constituted important stocks of great Calvados. They renovated the cidery, expanded the distillery and built new aging cellars. They acquired hundreds of new and re-used French oak barrels that have previously contained Cognac, Pineau des Charentes or fortified wines. Distillery's sales increased rapidly in France and abroad to exceed one million bottles sold at the end of the 1980s. The Coquerel distillery has been awarded four times the Grand Prix d'Honneur by the French President rewarding the most beautiful calvados cellar.
1937
René Gilbert founded Coquerel calvados and settled in the Manoir du Coquerel, in Normandy, in the department of Manche a few kilometers from the world renown Mont-Saint-Michel.
APPLES AND PEARS
The AOC Calvados requires us to wait until the fruits reach their optimal maturity, thus they must be harvestd on the ground from Mid-September till the end of November.
These fruits come from our orchards and those of neighboring farms with which we have been working for sometimes several decades.
been working for sometimes several decades.
A rich eco-system and unique ancestral practices.
In spring, due to the large number of fruit varieties that we use, flowering lasts about two months (April - May), allowing us to significantly reduce the impact of climatic phenomenas.
Pollination is largely carried out by bees that return every year naturally to our orchards.
Finally, from spring until the end of summer, cows and sheeps come to graze in the orchards, thus participating in the natural fertilization of the soil, the mowing of the grass and the natural lightening of the apple trees by eating the first fallen fruits that are often crooked.
HARVEST AND PRESSING
The AOC Calvados requires us to wait until the fruits reach their optimal maturity, thus they must be harvestd on the ground from Mid-September till the end of November.
The blending and balance of apple variety is fundamental in the cider production process to bring Coquerel calvados its unique attributes.
Therefore at Coquerel we use no less than 40 types of apples and pears from the 4 families:
- Sharp – such as Domaine, Fréquin variteries – bringing equilibrium and harmony to the cider (20%).
- Bitter sweet – sucah as Bedan, Binet Rouge or Bisquet varieities – bringing tanins to the cider (50%)
- Sweet – such as Germaine or Rouge dure varieties – bringing sweetness to the cider (20-25%).
- Bitter sharp - such as Rambault or René Martin varieties – bringing freshness to the cider (5-10%).
At Coquerel distillery we are convinced that a great Calvados is above all a great cider. The fruits are harvested, sorted, washed, crushed and then the must pressed in our cidery to get apple juice that is left for natural fermentation for a minimum of 21 days to become cider. This fermentation is often much longer and can sometimes last several months.
DISTILLATION
Once the havest is finished, then starts the distillation on lees when we concentrate the cider aromas. The transformation of cider into a clear, fresh and fruity eau-de-vie is made in our three traditional Calvados copper stills.
The distillation of our youngest ciders (30-60 days of natural fermentation) will give fresh, particularly fruity and crunchy eau-de-vie ideal for blending young Calvados.
On the other hand, the oldest ciders (3 to 8 months of natural fermentation) will give eau-de-vie with a beautiful structure and more acidity, ideal profile for long aging..
How does distillation works ? It is composed of three elements:
la chaudière, the boiler, the distillation column (separated into three cylindrical sections named the stripping column and the concentrating column, each made up of two plates with bubbling elements) and a cider heater.
The cider rises by gravity through the cider heater and even¬tu¬ally reaches the top of the stripping column. It des¬cends towards the boiler from plate to plate via overflow outlets.
Throughout its journey, alcohol is removed under the effect of the heat. The vapours produced from the stripped cider rise and, coming into con¬tact again with the cider, are enriched with volatile elements: alcohol, esters and aromas. These vapours also cross the plates of the smallest column (the “concentrating” column) and are condensed in the cider heater thanks to the cold cider. This results in a distillate with less than 72% after the heads and the tails are removed.
AGING
By entering into contact with fine French oak barrels, young calvados round off their education, gaining in structure and complexity. The aging of our calvados is carried out initially (3 to 6 months) in french oak foudres (200 to 300 HL) so that the freshly distilled spirits rest. Then, they are barreled in 300L to 400L french oak casks in order to maximize the exchanges between the eau-de-vie, the oak and the air allowing an optimal aging. These barrels are new or reused, they have previously contained cognac, rhum, sweet wines, mutated wines or pommeau de Normandie.
At Coquerel distillery, we have nine aging cellars, with different hygrometries and temperatures.
Dry cellars allow to evaporate more water and less alcohol offering calvados more character and conversely, wet cellars evaporate more alcohol but less water offering rounder calvados.
This evaporation is called the Angel Share.
Then comes the strategic role of the cellar master who controls that the wood never mask the apple flavors but enhance and magnify them.
