Ferme Apicole Desrochers Cuvée du Diable

Aroma:alcohol,fruity,light honey... Appearance:oily clear gold... Flavor:syrupy,fruity,honey..Tasste like a ice cider...

Pours a clear pale gold color, the liquid sticks a bit to the glass. Very good aroma of citrus, honey and alcohol, it’s a bit tart too. The flavor is superb, sweet honey, tart citrus and warming alcohol. The body is thick and the texture is syrupy. This is an excellent mead.

375 ml bottle, vintage 2000, from SAQ Terroirs d’Ici, Montreal (spring 2005), served chilled in a Face Cachée de la Pomme tasting glass. Clear, solid, faintly oily gold with thick legs quickly apparent....aroma is at first nothing but alcohol but after a few minutes breathing honey blossom shows up, along with tart cidery aromatics and a touch of woodsmoke.....the body betrays the ABV much less than the nose, with beautiful sweetness that never becomes too syrupy or oily, edging towards lightly medicinal, alcoholic and minerallic/chalky at the finish....there is a woody quality, mostly a charred/burnt old barrel sort of feel, and a sense of mustiness that for me is perfect....a supple old sipping mead that maintains both mellowness and some forceful strength.

Bleached yellow. Legs are quick to form and coat the glass as they swiftly retreat. Ultra-polished floral honey aroma with a hint of toasty tannins, lime sorbet, cantaloupe, and a light alcoholic perfume. Undercurrent of richness. Dryly powdery on the palate. Opens crisply with a tonic-like edge of hardness. Surprisingly firm, due to what the delicate aroma suggests, with a tightly wound display of sage, musty oak, and alcoholic warmth. Hint of tangy acidity. The center is delightfully hollow and devoid of flaw, which allows for a seamless transition into a nutty tannin squeeze combined with a less forceful display of assorted melon and sugar-drizzled pears. Perpetually crisp and herbaceous, with a cleansing yet understated breath of alcohol fused with dry oaky tannins which softly skim the palate. A classy mead. Thanks, Rastacouere.

8-year-old, 1998 vintage:
Trickling honey wealth along sturdy wooden boards...A classy, liquorous mouthfeel alas falls into a short flavor with alcohol heat...Intricate legs decorate the glass for this somewhat faded version of an apparently more potent mead...Not as good as the straw wine which preceded...