Spirits / Calvados / Calvados Michel Huard

Calvados Michel Huard - AOC Calvados

Montilly-sur-Noireau, Suisse-Normand

Calvados is divided into three appellations: The oldest and most famous, located in the Calvados department, is the Pays d’Auge.  Calvados from this region is normally made with only apples and must be distilled twice in a pot still.  Calvados Domfrontais is the newest appellation, having gained status in 1998.  Located in the southern part of Normandy, at least 30% pears need to be used in the cider that must be distilled once in a column still. By far the largest appellation is simply referred to as AOC Calvados and extends from Mount Saint Michel in the west all the way to the Pays du Bray in the east: in short, all permitted regions that do not adhere to rules of the other two appellations.  While it is possible to double distill the cider in AOC Calvados and use pears, just about every producer uses a column still and makes their calvados using only apples. 
 
Calvados Michel Huard is in a small town called Montilly-sur-Noireau, roughly halfway between the larger towns Condé-sur-Noireau and Flers.  This is the area of France known as the Suisse-Normand (Swiss-Normandy), not because mountains can be viewed in the distance or that it snows even but because, for the region, the hills are quite large and steep cliffs often border rivers, making it an ideal place for outdoor adventure sports.  The small towns are sparsely populated, and plenty of cows speckle the verdant landscape.  Resting in the Orne department, the Huard property lies only several kilometers from the Calvados department border.
 
Francoise Huard was one of two girls that Raymonde (born Brisollier) and Michel Huard raised in their stone farmhouse.  Michel had moved into the house in the early fifties and raised dairy cows and, at the same time, grew apples, made cider, and distilled calvados.  He learned the craft of calvados making from his father-in-law Albert Brisollier.  Michel was the first family member to gain acclaim for his calvados, winning several competitions in Normandy and France for a 1921 vintage, and gaining the attention of sommeliers in Paris, at restaurants like Taillevant and Tour d’Argent, or or famous wine boutiques like Legrand, who began stocking some of his vintages at their famous locales.  When his calvados began to be exported to the United Stares, the name Michel Huard gained a loyal following amongst American connoisseurs.

While he helped with collecting and pressing the apples, Francoise’s former husband Jean-Pierre had no interest in continuing Michel’s work on the farm. Their two boys, however, Jean-Francois and Gilles, showed interest at an early age, eager to help their grandfather especially when given the opportunity to drive some of the farm equipment and help make the cider.  Tragically, Jean-Francois’ brother Gilles died in a motorcycle accident in 1993 when he was just 17.  With the loss, the relationship between Michel and Jean-François grew even stronger.  After completing his military service near Agen in the Lot et Garonne in 1998, Jean-Francois returned to the property and began working full-time with his grandfather.  By this time, Michel had abandoned the dairy cows in 2004, replaced them with cattle raised for their meat, mostly of the Charolais and Salers races.  
 
In 2012, Jean-Francois fully took over production in 2012 when his grandfather Michel passed away. Since that time, the Huard reputation has continued to rise.  Production to be fully traditional: 30 varieties of apples (most sweet and bittersweet) are grown on standard rootstock whole trees are planted about ten meters apart from each other.  Nearly 2,000 trees grace the 25-hectare property, atop loamy soil composed of an ideal combination of silt and clay. Cows graze under the apple trees during the growing season, naturally fertilizing the soils with organic matter.  The apples are sorted, crushed, then pressed in a bladder press. The resultant juice is pumped into both stainless-steel tanks in the cave, and cement tanks buried underground in front of the aging cellars.  The cider ferments with indigenous yeasts and ages for about 8 months. A couple of times a year, traveling distiller Pierre Huet comes to the property with his column still and runs the cider through the alambic once, resulting in a white distillate at approximately 70% ABV.  From there, the spirit goes into one of two aging cellars: the old cellar with a dirt floor, high humidity, and older elongated wood barrels stained black by time, and a newer, dryer, and larger cellar filled with mostly refurbished barrels and wooden tanks.  The spirits are often moved between barrels and gradually reduced in their alcohol degree. 

Since the death of his grandfather, Jean-Francois has moved the Huard headquarters several hundred meters away from the farm in Caligny (where trees are still planted and cows graze) to the property upon which stands the cave in Montilly-sur-Noireau.  He has since refinished an abandoned house on the property and made it his home and purchased an abandoned Protestant temple next door.  Renovations have begun in this building which Jean-Francois hopes someday will serve as an aging cellar as well as a reception area for visiting guests.

If one were to consider the bottlings of Camut and Giard from the Domaine de Montreuil as the most stunning examples of calvados in the Pays d’Auge, and Lemorton as the most revered property in the Domfrontais, then the Huard bottlings are the most admired in AOC Calvados.  In addition to several stunning blends, there are also several vintages available.  A couple of very limited-edition bottlings are also available, a few of them at higher strengths than the normal domaine releases.  Perhaps the most special of these are a Hors d’Age blend and 2012 vintage that was aged in the cellars of Michel Couvreur outside of Beaune.

Calvados Michel Huard Hors d'Age NV
This Hors d'Age release comes from a careful blend of barrels from.three vintages. It shows deep green apple, vanilla and honey notes, a touch of almond, a soft mouthfeel, and a pleasingly long finish. A step up in development from the entry-level releases and a wonderful representation of the third Calvados appellation!

Calvados Michel Huard Hors d'Age NV (aged in Amontillado sherry barrels in the cellars of Michel Couvreur in Bouze les Beaune)
This project developed around 2016 during a visit with Pierre-Arnaud Franzen at Couvreur headquarters, part of which lie underneath a hillside not far from Beaune.  The cellars are extremely humid, and I was interested to see what effect the humidity would have on the Huard calvados.  Franzen was a fan of Huard, so was also curious to see what a little sherry cask aging would do to the spirit.  So we took the current Hors d’Age blend (2009, 2008, 1992, 1990) at 46% ABV and placed it in a 400 liter cask that had previously held amontillado sherry from a small bodega in Jerez.  Bottled after 20 months at 44.2%, this calvados has a lovely deep amber color with orange highlights. Its viscous legs are impressive.  The nose emits notes of ripe green apple, brown sugar, cigar tobacco, and toasted almonds. The palate is rich and viscous, with baked green apple, honey, salted toffee, and walnuts.  The finish is soft and long, with good balance between sweet and bitter flavors which leads to a harmonious whole.

Calvados Michel Huard 2004

Calvados Michel Huard 1993

Calvados Michel Huard 20 Ans d'Age

Column still used for distillation of Calvados Michel Huard

video: Oscar Beckmann

In December 2015, photographer Michael Housewright accompanied us on a trip to see our spirits producers.  Included below are  some shots he took during our visit.  You can view more of Michael's work at housewrighter.com