Spirits / Calvados / Calvados Michel Breton

Calvados Michel Breton

Michel Breton’s small farm is located two minutes from the center of La Ferté-Macé, a medium-sized town in the Domfrontais section of the Orne.  A family-run artisanal cider and calvados producer since 1972, their annual production is 70,000 liters of cider, which will go into 25,000 bottles of cider and poiré, in addition to other products on the farm that include pommeau, apple or pear juice, calvados, and cider vinegar.

At 74 years of age, Michel Breton is a man of the land and comes from a long line of family farmers. “In the family, apples are in our blood,” Michel states.  “I left school at 14 to take agricultural courses and helped on the farm until I was 21.”  In 1971, he settled on a 17-hectare farm that had been bought by his parents in the 1960s.  The following year, he married Irène, who grew up in the same village. “We had about fifty dairy cows,” he says.  “We grew corn and wheat to feed the animals. We also had a small production of cider and perry, which we started marketing in 1985.”

Over time, the farm grew to 100, then 250 hectares. Like many farmers, the couple had the ambition to evolve.  In 2000, the couple’s son Mickaël began working with them, accompanied by his wife Nathalie. In 2004, with a view to retirement, Michel bought the nearby Rocher Marie farm. For 5 years, Michel and Irène renovated several barns and constructed a cidery and aging cellar, lining it with equipment they bought from some other retiring farmers. In 2009, they gave up the dairy side of the business, allowing Michel began to concentrate full time on the cider side of things.

On both sites, Michel Breton grows 2.5 hectares (just over 6 acres) of apple and pear trees on standard rootstock. Releasing his spirits with the Calvados Domfrontais appellation, at least 30% of the ciders are made with pear, while the majority is always apple. In 2023, his orchards were certified organic, although they had been worked that way for as long as Michel can remember.  In the spring, a distiller arrives on the property with a column still on wheels, converting the cider/poiré blend into clear 70% eau de vie that explodes with green apple flavors.  Breton stocks his calvados in 400-liter barrels, none of which are new.  He aerates the casks about once every two years, and reduces the alcohol level very slowly. 

The resultant calvados is round and soft, a style that gains many followers, whether familiar or not with cider-based brandy.   Two vintages are available, both of which also exhibit excellent value.

2008: Amber with gold highlights. Lovely tears cling to the glass. Forward aromas of green apple, melted caramel, clover honey, and vanilla. The palate is soft and round, with additional notes of green apple, vanilla, and anis. A savory note of almond skin weaves its way in an out of the creamy texture, finishing with a warming note of apple skin and spice.  

1997: Deep amber deep golden highlights.  Forward and delightful nose combines red and green apples, toffee, cigar box, vanilla, and almond. Wow!  The palate is medium to full-bodied with a seamless texture, whose flavors echo those of the nose, and whose finish lingers for several minutes.  It’s not easy to find Domfrontais calvados of this age at this price.