Bordatto Etxaldea Basa Juan 2015

Basa Jaun is a lightly sparkling natural cider produced with a blend of 19 different organic, heirloom apple varieties grown on their land and indigenous to the French Basque region in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. Basa Jaun, named for the “wild man” of Basque mythology, is a hearty, acidic cider with the complexity associated with grape wine. It is bottled before alcoholic fermentation is complete, finishing its fermentation in bottle, lending Basa Juan it’s characteristic pétillance.  Basa Jaun is delicious when young, but is best appreciated after a few years of bottle aging, having the ability to improve in bottle for five or more years. As the primary notes from the fruit drop out, the ciders become more vinous, with complex aromatics and pronounced tannins that leave one reaching, inevitably, to descriptors more often associated with fine wines. 

Vintage – 2015 was a warm vintage and early harvest in Southern France, which benefited native apple varieties with high natural acidity to develop full and complex fruit and aromatic profiles. It was a good vintage for producing ciders built to age.