Calvados Domfrontais is a style of Calvados apple brandy made in and around the town of Domfront, in Basse Normandie, north-western France. What sets it apart from standard Calvados is its high pear content and the distinctive pear-drop aroma that results.
While all Calvados can be made from both apples and pears, to qualify as Domfrontais the spirit blend must contain at least 30% distilled perry (pear cider). The Domfrontais production area covers 115 communes around Domfront – a much smaller and more geographically specific zone than the 1550 communes that qualify for the standard Calvados title.
Calvados Domfrontais is produced from a combination of apples and pears. After the fruit is pressed, it is allowed to ferment for six weeks, after which it has reached a strength of roughly 6% alcohol by volume (ABV). This cider is then distilled in wood-fired copper stills, to a strength of around 70%. The resulting spirit is then aged in barrels for a minimum of three years (one year more than standard Calvados) to develop complex flavors and a smoother mouthfeel. The alcohol level of the finished product must be at least 40%, and there is also a required minimum content of alcohols other than ethanol and methanol (450 grams per hL). The effect of this latter requirement is to ensure that 'heavier' alcohols, which contain important 'pear-like' flavor compounds, are not distilled out of the liquid in the search for greater alcoholic strength and purity.
The orchards of north-western France (of which Normandy is a part) are some of Europe's finest and longest-established; their produce has long been used to make cider from apples and pears. Distillation of this cider into eau-de-vie didn't begin in earnest until the 16th Century, although there are records suggesting that Arab visitors brought distillation skills to the region many hundreds of years earlier.
Between the 16th and 19th Centuries, the popularity of apple brandy continued to grow, and received a particular boost when the phylloxera epidemic of the 1860s led to dramatic wine shortages. By this time, the spirit's allure had spread far beyond Normandy, and 'Calvados' was now being produced in various parts of France. In 1942, ten districts in Normandy and Brittany were each granted their own protected appellation for their Calvados brandy, giving them exclusive rights to the name. In 1984, these ten appellations were combined to form the single Calvados AOC in force today. The Calvados Domfrontais title was introduced in 1997 in recognition of this particular pear-rich style.
The official Calvados Domfrontais appellation laws contain various stipulations to protect the diversity and health of the local orchards. More than 40 varieties of apple and 90 varieties of pear are specifically sanctioned for use, with particular focus on local varieties. Compared to everyday eating fruit, most varieties used for Calvados production are very high in phenolic compounds, and have low levels of acidity. The laws even go so far as to prohibit the planting of at least five apple varieties on the grounds of their susceptibility to fire blight (a contagious orchard fruit disease). The distinctive, pear-rich Domfrontais style is also protected in the laws, by the condition that any orchard producing Calvados Domfrontais must be made up of at least 15% pear trees. This minimum increases to 25% as of the 2016 harvest.
Calvados Domfrontais represents only a small proportion of total Calvados production, but is held in high regard for its distinct flavors. It is one of two sub-categories of Calvados, the other being Calvados Pays d'Auge.
