Small Acres Cyder Sparkling Perry 2021

Small Acres Cyder Sparkling Perry 2021 has just won a gold medal at the Japan Cider Cup. A big achievement for a small-scale cider maker from central New South Wales, Australia.

First things first, this is a perry and not a cider. That means that is made from pears and not apples. The pear juice, once fermented, spends 6 months maturing in the bottle (on the lees) before being hand riddled (regularly turning the nearly upside-down bottles so the sediment gets to the neck of the bottle) and disgorged (quickly opening and releasing the bottle ejecting the sediment) to the sounds of true crime podcasts. Now the real question is how does the choice of podcasts affect the taste? Clearly, more research is needed. Personally, I would have opted for a cycling podcast or maybe Ria’s Cider Chat or even something about renewable electricity infrastructure because I’m a massive wonk.

The Nose

Is this a perry or a Sauvignon Blanc? It’s full of passion fruit and lemony citrus. It’s light and fresh and not backward in coming forward. That punchy brightness is backed up by a volcanic earthy undertone.

The Taste

Again, if it wasn’t for the fizz, it could be a very trendy number made of Marlborough, NZ grapes. But the team over in Orange, New South Wales have done just enough to bring the wine drinkers something pretty special. Perries often, in my opinion, suffer from a sorbitol and mint affliction but here those 2 elements have been tamed and restrained. There is none of that unfermentable sugar lingering on your tongue. Instead, it mixes those head citrus notes, which are warming into a navel orange vibe, with brimstone and hot spring earthiness. That kind of makes sense, these pears were grown in the shadow of Mount Canobolas a 1400-meter (~7 furlongs for the Americans) high extinct volcano.

Final Thoughts on Small Acres Cyder Sparkling Perry 2021

A delicate aperitif: Our Sparkling Perry is great for a celebration or with light summer dishes. That’s what the back of the bottle says. It is a very good summary of what this drop is capable of. It’s an exciting little number, I think it should be served to your friends and only tell them what it is, just a moment after they say “ooo that’s nice”.

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