Antoine Marois is a Normandy native who grew up in amongst the orchards. After spending years working in the wine industry throughout France and overseas as an agronomist, he decided to come home and take a punt at making cidre. After working in places such as Champagne, the Rhône Valley and Burgundy, and gaining a thorough understanding of the different soils and climates, his aim was come home and make cidres that display the incredible terroirs that are unique to the Pays d'Auge in Normandy.
 
Antoine works with 20 different local varieties of apples across 7.5ha, on an 18ha estate which belongs to his grandparents. He makes several cuvées, each representative of the different soil types – his goal is to bring these to the forefront of the cidres. He also makes pear cidres with fruit from a friend in the neighbouring commune of Domfront. The orchards are organic, and all harvesting is done by hand – this ensures fruit can be selected at the correct maturity. Sorting occurs in the orchards by hand, to ensure only the best fruit is used. The fruit is then left in large boxes for an additional period of time to ripen further, before being sorted again by hand before pressing.
 
Each cidre is made from single orchards, allowing the identity of that particular terroir to shine through. These are vintage cidres that can be consumed early, or aged to gain complexity. They are so precise and clean – for me they represent some of the best I’ve tasted. Served at top restaurants throughout France, these are classy gastronomic cidres of the highest calibre that are sure to impress. Very stylish and complete, and at the top of their league.