Spreyton V Squared

Spreyton Cider’s story started over one hundred years ago when the first orchards were planted. Last year I thought they had come of age with the Big Q that I named the Best Cider of 2018. This was Spreytons Cider Makers Select release of last year. This year they have a new Cider Makers Select, the “V Squared”

So the name V Squared has a few meanings. Originally It was named because this is a blend of 2 Vintages. The 2017 Vintage Sturmer cider that had been sitting in oak for 12 months and the 2018 Vintage. In 2018 the vintage included a blend of Kingston Black, Bulmers Norman and Gravenstein Cider, with a much smaller amount of Yarlington Mill, Frequin Rouge and Bec d’Oie cut with some Coxes Orange Pippen and Jonagold to juice it up.

The second, completely coincidentally at the time the 2018 vintage was being pressed, Damian Viney, the head Cider Maker at Spreyton had his first kiddo with the initials VV, V Squared.
Spreytons Cider Makers Select has become an annual vintage tradition for the northern Tasmanian outfit. They produce about 15 times more volume of the regular edition cider but the Cider Makers Select takes about 15 times as long to get the blend just right. That’s the pleasant side effect of working with the diversity of proper cider apples. Getting that flavour profile just right was so important to Viney he cancelled the bottling run at 9:30 the night before just to get more time to nail the flavour profile.

The Nose

Straight out of the bottle the V Squared was a tsunami of acids and something like a salty sea spray. I’m imagining the spray off a wintery storm rolling across from the Bass Strait. As it warms this glass of Spreytons cider it reveals dark cherry’s and wintery spiced apples.

The Taste

More spicy apples, this would match very well with a hot curry. The heritage varieties are kicking a solid amount of tannin, don’t worry though it’s not over powering. That’s the story of the V Squared, it is incredibly well balanced. Medium dry with a fruity after taste of orange thanks to the Cox’s Orange Pippin, watermelon and of course those heritage apples. It’s got a lovely warmth coming through hinting at the oak.
One of the coolest things about higher tannin apple is they help create a nice thick mouth feel. The V Squared is punctuated by tiny bubbles in Spreytons slightly hazy cider.

Final Thoughts on the Spreyton V Squared Cider

I totally understand the drive for perfection in a cider. You only get one shot in cider, the apples only grow once a year. Working with such a wide set of flavours and their complex interactions is a real challenge. Viney and his team at Spreyton Cider have absolutely nailed it, again, with the Cider Maker Select V Squared.
There is one problem with the Cider. They only made 3000 bottles.

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