Banda Cider of the Arve #1 2024

2024 Cider of the Arve #1

A blend of Bulmers Norman, Foxwhelp & Kingston Black

This cider is soft like velvet, incredibly perfumed and really delicate. It is unlike other Cider of the Arve’s that we have produced due to the lack of Frequin Rouge apples which are incredibly rich in tannin. We decided to make a slightly sweet, acid driven cider after we were able to harvest enough Foxwhelps from Our Mates Farm. I think this balance of sweetness and acid has driven it to be a wonderful cider to enjoy at the end of a meal with cheese and desserts.

This ferment was started with an early pick of especially ripe Bulmers Norman on the 4th of April, and was followed by Foxwhelps which balanced the sugars and acid perfectly. The Foxwhelps were harvested in the hottest conditions we have ever experienced in the orchard, however they still retained an incredible amount of brightness which elevated the blend. After fermenting for a couple of weeks, we harvested some Kingston Black on the 15th of April and blended these into the ferment towards the end of April.

Tasmanian autumns are notoriously balmy by day and cool in the evening. To slow the fermentation down, after adding the Kingston Black’s we decided to rack the cider off its heavy sediment to retain flavour and slow the ferment (rural method). This worked almost too well; and resulted in an extremely slow fermentation, the slowest we have achieved! At times we were worried that we had taken too much nutrient away from the cider, but once it was time for bottling we were elated with the result. Apples harvested in April and bottled for secondary fermentation on the 14th of October was a new milestone in our journey of making rural method ciders. The secondary fermentation was just as slow as the primary ferment, and it was only in recent months that the cider was enjoyably sparkling! A nerve racking journey to something extraordinary.

Due to the secondary fermentation in bottle, you’ll notice a healthy amount of lees. These do tremendous work in building complexity into our ciders and protecting them from oxidation. The lees can be left at the bottom of the bottle or gently incorporated before opening.

All of these elements of slowness and gentle movement have resulted in a similarly gentle and delicate cider. One to be mused upon and shared with friends. We hope you enjoy this new iteration of our treasured orchard blends from Our Mates Farm! – Banda Cider