In their own words, as we could not do better, below is the eloquent and passionate description of this intriguing and unique new artisanal cider producer based in Beaune. Although we began working in 1997 with THE producer that almost single-handedly created this now flourishing side of the terroir-driven beverage business, how could we say no to eclectik?!!
In the beginning…4 friends and a project
We are Véronique, Patrick, Jean-Arnaud and Jean-David, four friends from different backgrounds but with a shared appreciation of well-crafted beverages and many years of working with winemakers, distillers and brewers in France and abroad.
In 2020, we started crafting ciders in a tiny cellar in the center of Beaune. In 2021 we moved to a slightly larger winery !
Fermentation, ageing, blending and tasting have always been our passion. These are also the focus of our new venture: designing and crafting distinctive ciders in Beaune, born from the blend of local apples and juices from other French regions, fermented and aged like grands vins in a surprising and joyful collection of wine and spirits barrels.
Our mission: reviving and putting a new spin on the cider-making tradition in Burgundy.
Of fruits, juices, terroirs and people…
Eclectik is a unique cidery by design. In addition to the apples we collect from wild orchards in Beaune or our surroundings, we select and buy apple juices from cidermakers or farmers in several French regions with a rich cider-making tradition like Pays d’Othe, Normandy, Brittany, Perche or Jura,. Freshly-pressed juices are transferred to Beaune to ferment in our cellars with native apple yeasts.
This eclectik and singular approach provides us with an extensive selection of superb juices from dozens of apple varieties, with different flavours, from different terroirs. It’s like having a wide and wonderful palette of colours to paint from.
Slow and complete fermentation in various types of wines and spirits barrels
In Beaune, we ferment our ciders naturally, with their indigenous yeasts and very slowly during several months, with just the occasional racking, in the coolness of our cellar. Fermentations are complete and our ciders fully dry. Our singularity comes from our approach: for the fermentation of each cider, we choose the most suitable receptacle according to its aromatic potential and our creative agenda. We take a lot of time (and pleasure!) to look for diversity in our barrels: wines from many terroirs, varietals and appellations (Bourgogne, Jura, Loire, Rhône…), spirits (Armagnac, whisky, Calvados, Marc or Fine de Bourgogne to name a few), or even craft beers or liquors. Provided to us by winemakers, distillers or brewers who are also close friends, they have all housed exceptional wines or spirits, and the quality of our ciders owes much of their distinctive character to these barrels.
Ageing: time & patience
We craft our ciders as you would a fine wine or some specific beers like lambics, with a careful barrel ageing lasting several months. Patience will develop the aromatic complexity and personality of each barrel and therefore each cider.
During the ageing phase, we keep our barrels in a cool atmosphere. We also top-up (ouillage) our barrels very regularly to protect our ciders. This is a delicate period but it is essential to enhance the complexity and mouthfeel of our ciders.
Blending our cuvées: the pleasure of creating
After regular tastings and only when we judge the time to be right, we will design our cuvées with a specific combination of barrels. By nature, each year might be different and our ciders will reflect their terroir(s) of origin, the vintage conditions and of course the blend and taste of the barrels they come from.
A cider can just as well be born from one or two barrels (isolated for their terroir of origin or specific tastes), or result from the blend of all regions and all our barrels. Only the final result – and taste – matters to us !
When the inclination takes us, we also produce some limited-edition ciders with the addition of fruit maceration (citrus is our thing!) or hops.
Nothing is defined in advance and meetings with new people always brings food for thought, or drink for thought should we say
After blending, Eclectik ciders are bottled as per the méthode traditionnelle like in Champagne (small addition of yeast and sugar). After a few months, a gentle fizz appears and our ciders are ready to be enjoyed. We may or not disgorge our ciders and they are all extra brut (no dosage).
We are Eclectik,
petite cidrerie en Bourgogne
