Peckham’s Farmhouse

I’ve been wanting to write about a Peckhams for a while. I’ve only tried one of them a few years ago, Unfortunately, travel is tough right now. But then I release that hey the up and coming cider social media star Marguerite is over in NZ and she is about to crack open a can of Peckham’s Farmhouse so here is Real Cider Reviews’ first-ever guest review.

Kia ora, I’m Marguerite from New Zealand and I review cider on Instagram via ms_guide_to_cider_and_more.  I’m honoured to be the first guest reviewer on Real Cider Reviews!

Peckham’s is based in Upper Moutere, Nelson, New Zealand.  New Zealand has two strong apple-growing areas and Nelson is one of them!

Alex and Caroline Peckham have been making craft cider since 2004.  Their mission “is to explore what cider can be”.

They use natural products, wild yeast and grow around 30 different varieties of cider apple (and pear).  The fruit is hand-harvested and I enjoy following their Instagram page to see what they are up to.  Recently there has been an innovative ‘tree shaking’ device! I’m told it does not hurt the apples!  Making some of their fruity ciders requires some foraging, i.e. elderflower and feijoa.

I always love their label art, each flavour has an amazing unique design.

Peckham’s Farmhouse Cider

I’ve never had this cider before, I’ve been saving it for this review.

Smell: very subtle.  I had to put my nose right into the glass to get a hint of apple.  I was surprised by this as normally Peckham’s wild yeast provides a strong funky smell!

Colour: It pours a beautiful deep orange colour.

Carbonation: Heavy on the bubbles when first poured.  Loved the bubbly look and in the first sip, could feel the bubbles on my tongue.  Over time, this disappears.

Age: This can is from the 2019 vintage.  It is aged in oak and steel.

Sugar: It has 23 g/l of sugar which is at the higher end for Peckham’s.  I love how they provide this level of information.

Apples: Peckham’s rarely do single variety ciders.  I am always intrigued to read the varieties of apples included in each cider.   This is a ‘cellar blend’ which includes SIX different apples used to create a certain profile.  Caroline tells me that “every year the blends will be a little different. Our aim is to let the apples ‘speak’ through the cider with minimum intervention”.

Apples used are: Yarlington Mill, Major, 21C, Tom Putt, Kingston Black, Harry Master’s Jersey.

Yeast: The label says ‘wild fermented’ which means Peckham’s do not add any commercial yeasts to the apple juice, but allow the natural yeasts to ferment the juice into cider.  Peckham’s “aim with the Farmhouse is to offer a rich, complex, approachable cider with elements of ‘English’ traditional cider-like oak, forest floor and tannins”.

Taste: It has a lovely apple taste.  I was disappointed when the can was finished!  Apple forward.  There is a richness, probably from the oak aging but there is, thankfully, no oak tannin coming through.  Peckham’s really hit the mark here.

Rating: I really liked it.  Peckham’s Farmhouse is an 8 out of 10 for me.

Well, a big thank you to Marguerite, If you want to see more guest posts let me know in the comments below.

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