Patrick, if you are reading this - this cider blew my mind! (-Lance) The Quaker Run vineyard gives way to some of the best grapes/fruit, in my opinion, in VA. The site is just fantastic.
30% Roxbury Russet, 25% Ashmead’s Kernel, 19% Black Twig, 14% Grimes Golden, and 12% Gold Rush from Quaker Run Orchard in Madison, VA. Clay loam with quartz and greenstone gravel, 950’ elevation. Quaker Run is a former commercial orchard dating back to the 19th century. Current owners Tom and Debbie Flynn still maintain a few rows of mature apple trees.
The 2020 Quaker Run is a cider like no other that we have had from Patrick. It was so alive and just bursting with flavor and body; it had weight and a sexy, creamy, oily texture on the palate—notes of dried apple, satsuma, piecrust, and caraway seed. We will be holding on to a couple of these bottles for release later!
2020 Patois Cider, Quaker Run, Charlottesville VA
- Tom and Patrick picked all the fruit from early September to mid October.
- Apples were left in bins outside to further concentrate for 2-4 weeks after harvest.
- A continuous fermentation carried through harvest as each variety ripened: sorted fruit soaked overnight on skins before being pressed into a neutral 350 litre French oak barrel, poly tank, and glass demijohns.
- These various components were then blended to finish fermenting in bottle.
- Bottles aged on lees for sixteen months before being riddled and disgorged by hand in early May 2022.
- No SO2 additions were made.
