The Eric Bordelet Poiré Granit 2023 is a gently sparkling perry from Normandy, made from pears grown on trees said to be more than 300 years old on granite and schist soils in the south of the region. Fine-boned and only lightly sweet, it drinks closer to a serious sparkling wine than to anything you'd think of as cider.

Aromatics are precise rather than showy: fresh pear skin, lemon and lime peel, a little white peach, and a faint smoky, stony edge that comes out with a good swirl. The palate is creamy and surprisingly broad for something this light in alcohol, with poached pear and dried pineapple carrying through the middle.

What sets Poiré Granit apart is its grip. Tannin and acidity are both substantial, so the residual sweetness reads as texture rather than sugar, and the mousse is soft and fine rather than aggressive. The finish is dry, mineral and long.

Serve it at 8–10°C as an aperitif, or pour it through a meal where a white wine would struggle: roast pork with apple, salted butter and shellfish, ripe washed-rind cheeses, a tarte tatin at the end. It also handles spice and richness better than most sparkling wines.

Drinking beautifully now and, kept in a cool dark spot, will hold and slowly deepen through to 2030 and beyond.