1958 Christian Drouin Vintage 1958 (47 yr b. 2005) Calvados Brandy 750ml

Christian Drouin senior acquired the Fiefs Sainte Anne farm near Honfleur in 1960 and, with the help of traveling distiller Pierre Pivet, spent his first two decades in Calvados distilling cider without much thought toward selling it. Rather than blend across years as local tradition dictated, he set individual vintages aside to age quietly in the farm's old half-timbered outbuildings, unknowingly laying the foundation for what has become the largest vintage Calvados collection in the industry. It would take until 1979, once his son Christian Drouin Jr. joined the business, for these accumulated stocks to be considered ready for the market.

This particular vintage was distilled in 1958 from cider stored for several months to develop the higher acidity that gives Drouin's vintage releases their aging potential and complexity. Rather than the double distillation used for the house's standard range, this single distillation took place in a copper column still, a method more typical of the era. The spirit rested for decades in Calvados casks, part of Drouin's practice of periodically moving vintage stocks between barrels to build depth, before finally being bottled in 2005 at forty-seven years of age.

The result pours a deep amber and opens with rich, appetizing aromas of caramelized apple and spice. The palate turns subtle and lightly wooded, elegant rather than powerful, with a long finish that favors grace over intensity throughout.