AOC Calvados Pays d'Auge wines awarded at the Gilbert & Gaillard International Challenge

A.O.C./A.O.P.

The Calvados Pays d'Auge appellation covers 290 communes, 269 of them in full and 21 in part, spread across the Calvados, Orne and Eure departments, over an area of around 2,320 km². It covers almost the entire Pays d'Auge, bordered by the English Channel to the north, the plains of Caen and Falaise to the west, and the hills of the Perche to the south. The soils are clay-limestone hillside soils, and the region maintains the tradition of orchard-pasture, where apple trees grow amid grassy meadows that contribute to the quality of the fruit. The eaux-de-vie come from ciders and perries made from bitter, bittersweet, acidic and local apple varieties, complemented by perry pears. What sets Calvados Pays d'Auge apart from the other Normandy calvados appellations is the requirement of double distillation, known as "à repasse", carried out exclusively in copper pot stills, whereas the other calvados appellations allow other distillation methods.

The wines of this appellation

Calvados Pays d'Auge is an eau-de-vie ranging from amber to golden in colour, with its depth increasing with the length of ageing in oak casks, a minimum of two years before release. Young, the nose recalls the fruit of origin, apple and sometimes pear, with a round palate that the double distillation makes particularly silky. With age, the aromas grow more complex, moving towards cooked fruit, dried fruit, spice and wood, for a full, warming structure on the palate. Younger versions are enjoyed as a digestif or as a "trou normand" between courses. Older ones pair with an apple-based dessert, coffee or a cigar, and also go well with certain matured Normandy cheeses.