Yarlington Mill apples and nothing else, that’s what the recipe for 3 Sons new Yarlington Mill Cider says. The theory is to keep it simple and let the apples tell the story.  

As I said, 3 Sons have kept this Cider simple. The Canberra outfit has taken locally grown Yarlington Mill apples and fermented them over a Chardonnay yeast. Next, the Cider goes through a course filter just to remove any chunky bits of yeast without being too fine as to remove any flavour molecules. This results in a dark but clear, lightly sparkling cider.  Rear of the bottle of 3 Sons Yarlington Mill Cider

The Nose 

You’re in for a treat here. The Yarlington Mill’s scent is warm and inviting like an English pub with a shaggy lurcher sleeping under the dartboard in the corner near the fireplace. I got plenty of funky barnyard notes that come as par for the course when dealing with Yarlington Mill apples. It’s very round with nothing sticking out, it’s just very comfortable. 

The Taste 

So, after that swirl and sniff, you’re sitting comfortably, you take a small sip, and WHAM the dog has bitten your leg and its owner has punched your front teeth out for looking cross at the dog. 

This is extremely dry with biting minerals, balanced acids with strong heritage fruit vibes, maybe even a dash of raspberry and vanilla cream. 3 Sons Cider Yarlington Mill is low on fizz which lets the flavour wrap around your tongue. It’s smooth, it nearly gets creamy. 

The finish isn’t an abrupt halt in the traditional “crisp finish” sense, instead, the fruit slowly fades out and leaves behind the tongue drying Yarlington Mill tannins 

Final Thoughts on 3 Sons Yarlington Mill Cider 

Open your dictionary to the Yarlington Mill page, stick your tongue out and lick the definition and that’s exactly what this cider is, at least that’s how I think dictionaries work. I don’t think I’ve come across a cider that represents what this apple can be so well, at least in Australia. Even in the UK the Yarlington Mill ciders as far as I can tell were blended with a few other apples, so they didn’t highlight this apple to the full potential. 

I want a pint of this on a Sunday afternoon beside that shaggy dog. 

 

Product Yarlington Mill
Company 3 Sons Cider
Sweetness Dry
Alc/Vol 6.7%
Website 3sonscider.com.au
Country of Origin Australia
Region Canberra, ACT

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