I said recently – can’t remember where – that outside of the big, obvious nations, the most exciting cider countries just at the moment are, in my opinion, Norway and Poland. Extraordinary things are happening in both places; it’s testament to the sheer energy and drive of the Norwegians that (along with next-door Sweden) they’re the guests at the upcoming CiderCon in January. Whilst everything I taste from Poland lately (and I don’t taste half as much as I’d like) builds a case for the country’s excellence with the fermented apple. Their mature ice ciders, in particular, are extraordinary.

But perhaps I should have added a third to that duo and mentioned Scotland.

Scottish cider, in the last couple of years, has positively exploded. Not quantitatively of course; the country is still responsible for a comparatively minuscule amount. But in terms of number of producers – and, importantly, numbers of producers making properly top-tier stuff – the scene is starting to look radiant. Jack recently wrote up Caledonian, a long-standing favourite in these parts, included in the first ‘essential case’ I ever compiled, way back in January 2020, and for a long-time the clear standard bearer for Scottish cider. Ryan’s still, for my quid, one of the best makers in Scotland (or the UK full stop) but he’s now just one of a small corps of makers determined to put out some of the best fermented apple going.

Last year I tasted through a lineup of eleven Scottish ciders and a perry. Eight of them came from five producers I was encountering for the first time; all of them were not just decent but really, properly good. I wrote at the time that it was one of my all-time favourite flights, and two of them went on to be included in my ‘favourite ciders of the year’ list for 2022. Meanwhile, Scottish makers have continued to make inspiringly concerted efforts to join themselves up, with a second edition of ‘Pressed’ – an annual celebration of the best of Scottish cider – taking place in August. (I am determined to make the 2024 iteration).

And the new producers just seem to keep coming. I’m fascinated to see what Linn Cider put together for instance; their instagram certainly paints an attractive picture, and I love the sound of what they’re doing. Naughton are now a favourite of mine, but their first traditional method bottlings emerged this year, and seem to have kicked things up a notch from an already excellent base. There are a good few makers we’ve still yet to get round to, and keeping up with the ever-growing chorus is becoming more and more of a challenge.

Today’s tasting represents our attempt to do so. Fleming’s Fife Cider isn’t an entirely new character to Cider Review, since maker Robbie Fleming (of Fife, shockingly) answered our call to perrymakers last year and kindly answered questions as part of our ‘meet the maker’ series. Everything he was doing sounded very intriguing, and I made a mental note to try any of Robbie’s creations as soon as there was a chance to do so.

Opportunity knocked a few weeks back when Robbie got in touch to ask if I’d like to try a few of his new bottlings. ‘Yes please and thank you’ was the very quick response, and a short while afterwards a box of Fleming’s Fife ciders and perries arrived at CR Towers. The perries I’ll save for another post – today we’re going to look at the cider.

What we have are two successive vintages (2021 and 2022) of ‘Le Mariage’. Both are blends of Fife apples – mostly cooking and eating varieties – blended with English bittersweet and bittersharp apples from an Oxfordshire orchard. In Robbie’s own words then name ‘came from the fact that bottling was done at Naughton Cidery with my friend Peter Crawford and his friend from Champagne, so I chose a silly French name. Plus I’m Scottish and my wife is English so it mirrors my own marriage!’

Though the concept remained constant across both vintages, the varieties of bittersweet and bittersharp changed markedly year on year. For the 2021 edition they were Harry Masters’ Jersey, Dabinett, Stoke Red and Kingston Black, whilst in 2022 Robbie got some Yarlington Mill from Oxfordshire with which, in addition to his Fife apples, he blended Tremlett’s Bitter, Tom Putt and Camelot grown up near Forfar in Angus. So we’re not expecting them to be terribly similar at all, but we are intrigued by the comparison nonetheless.

At the time of writing I’m not entirely sure where these can be bought. (I know that’s intensely frustrating and unhelpful – apologies – but such is often the way with small cideries.) Robbie recently did a tasting with Aeble, who would always be my first port of call for Scottish cider enquiries, but at the time of writing it’s not listed on their website. In the meantime, your best bet might be to reach out to Robbies directly on his instagram, which should see you right. 

[Update! Aeble got in touch and as of yesterday have the 2022 in stock! £13.50 for a 750ml bottle.]

Fleming’s Fife Cider Le Mariage 2021 – review

How I served: Very lightly chilled.

Appearance: Sun-filled orange. Frothy mousse.

On the nose: Not had many Scottish ciders with aromatics like this. A distinctly southern inflection, as you’d probably expect, the orangey-yellow fruits and leatheriness of Dabinett and HMJ shining through. There’s a light touch of initial barnyard sulphur, but the fruits overhaul it, trending in a vibrant, tropical direction. Fresh oranges and mangoes. The Fife apples trill in the background with bright citrus. Lovely stuff.

In the mouth: I probably over-chilled this initially, but actually the influence of the Fife apples means this stays soft even at colder temperatures; just a lovely, brisk grip of tannin and acid which combine to make this extra-refreshing. Once up to this cider’s ideal temperature (by my mileage) – around cellar level, we find a good, full body with concentrated savoury orange fruit, again nudging in a tropical direction (Kingston Black plus ripe HMJ I’d wager). Dry, bright, superbly-structured and opening up beautifully with time and warmth.

In a nutshell: Throw all New England IPAs in the bin and drink this grown-up fruit bomb instead. Pure summer vibes.

Fleming’s Fife Cider Le Mariage 2022 – review

How I served: Cellar temperature

Appearance: Hazy copper pennies. Far less fizz.

On the nose: Completely different, as you’d expect from almost entirely different apples. Lots of brooding Yarlington Mill depth; deep, juicy, bittersweet apple, red apple skins, sweet spices. But also, with time, blood orange, mixed summer fruits and – a new one on me I think – distinct cola bottle sweets (an aroma I am entirely here for). A little bubblegum and watermelon too. It’s very concentrated, this nose. Wants time and air – and perhaps a few years of ageing if you can bear to wait. Great character though.

In the mouth: Again, the word I’m thinking of is ‘concentrated’. (In the good sense!) It’s full, it’s juicy. Loads of character – similar to the nose but with some strawberry, tangerine and orange flavour coming in. Great freshness from the Tom Putts (presumably) too. There’s such epic weight and concentration of fruit here, with ripe, tight tannins that you can just feel will unfurl and unfurl over the next few years as those tannins and phenolics un-knit themselves, break down and allow the fruit to billow and blossom. 

In a nutshell: This is a proper, serious cider. Already ace but will be a worldie I reckon if you can give it the ageing time it deserves.

Conclusions

Yep, another for the ‘superb Scottish producers’ roster. Two very different ciders united by their fullness, intensity, weight of fruit and sheer quality. I think both will reward ageing, though you’ll have a lot of fun opening either now – particularly the 2021. These are big, serious, gastronomic ciders that showcase great blending and deserve the respect of being paired with food. I opined on the latest episode of Cider Voice that the litmus test of great cider (or perry) is ‘will it go really well with a massive sausage roll?’ I reckon these would both pass with flying colours.

One small aside – and this is not so much a criticism as an observation, but worth making nonetheless. For all the excellent ciders and perries being made in Scotland at the moment, many of the best are utilising English fruit. This isn’t intended as sassenach smugness on my part, nor is it something I particularly have a problem with – on the whole southern England is a better climate to grow bittersweet cider apples in. If Scottish cider producers were to use solely Scottish cider fruit, their profile would generally showcase very high levels of acidity almost across the board. But I do like that Robbie is also using local Fife apples in his creation and I certainly hope that as Scottish cider continues to ascend, it is accompanied by a move to plant more apples and orchards in Scottish soil; to see which bittersweets and bittersharps suit the climates and terroirs and generally push Scottish orcharding as much as Scottish cider. I suspect this will happen – and indeed is already happening. We heard from Ryan, for instance, about his Major apples growing as far north as the Black Isle. 

Anyway – all just a bit of a ramble from an incurable terroir-wonk. Brilliant stuff from Robbie. Fife continues to become the Somerset of the north. I’m absolutely here for it.