The Eric Bordelet Sydre Brut Tendre 2023 is an off-dry Normandy cider with fine, persistent bubbles and real apple flavour rather than sweetness for its own sake. Made from a blend of old, non-hybridised apple varieties grown biodynamically in southern Normandy, it sits much closer to a good sparkling wine than to anything you would call a soft drink.

Aromas run to bruised orchard apple, quince paste and lemon rind, with a whiff of hay and cider-shed earthiness underneath. The palate follows with baked apple, honey and a light nuttiness, all of it carried on a fine, foaming mousse.

Eric Bordelet picks from around twenty ancient apple varieties, chosen for their sugar, acid and bitterness, and that balance shows in the structure here: gentle sweetness pushing against firm acidity and a faint bitter grip on the finish. Low in alcohol, moderate in body, dry-tasting despite the tendre in the name, and it finishes clean with a savoury, appley echo.

Pour it with roast pork and crackling, a tray of salted galettes, washed-rind cheeses, or fried chicken. It also does the job as an aperitif when a full-strength sparkling would be too much, and it is a good ally for fish and chips on a warm afternoon.

Drink the Sydre Brut Tendre 2023 now and over the next two to three years, chilled but not frozen, and treat it like wine once opened.