Cidrerie du Golfe ‘Mon Cœur Balance’ Pomme-Raisin 2021

Location: France, Brittany

Cidermaker: Marc Abel

Fruit: Guillevic apples and Gamay grapes

Winemaking: Gamay free-run juice goes into vat, while Gamay whole-cluster bunches are pressed separately as well the pressed Guillevic apples. The free-run juice, macerated juice and apple juice are then blended in vat. Fermented with temperature control for three months.

From us at M&L: The Gamay is late-harvest, sourced from a vineyard in Ancenis west of Anjou. Dry but juicily fruited; full of life and joyous energy. Apples are early harvest to provide balance.

From the Importer Super Glou: After working in Paris for twenty years as a photographer for the likes of Libé, Le Monde, Cartier, Kenzo and Hermès, Marc Abel shifted his focus to farmhouse beverages at the turn of the twenty-first century. It was through a chance encounter with natural wine via Patrick Desplats (Pat) and Sébastien Dervieux (Babass) in 1998 that he was initiated into the magical world of spontaneous fermentation.

The following year, Marc left Paris to relocate his family to Bretagne for fresh air and an escape from the city. He continued to work as a photographer until 2010, all the while searching for a job that would allow him to get his hands in the dirt. In 2011, he happened upon an abandoned cidery four kilometers from his house and took it as a sign. With the help of his friend François, Marc plunged headfirst into cider making.

At the time, natural cider—nothing added, nothing removed—did not really exist. They quickly discovered a thirsty clientele, first locally and then internationally, through their embrace of natural wine’s philosophy and practices.

In 2020, François decided to begin a new chapter of life, and Marc welcomed Max, a former roofer and zinc worker (also looking to be closer to nature) into the fold. Now, the adventure continues with Marc and Max at the helm.