If you find yourself interested in all things cider and perry for long enough a period of time, say 2 years, 5 years, a lifetime even, you will be privileged to see the evolution of a producer on the scene that at one stage or another, seemed like the new kid on the block, and then before your very eyes, veritably levels up (up and away). This can’t happen just like that over the space of two seasons. It takes time. For those listening to the Neutral Cider Hotel podcast in the lockdown-era 2020 (or reading Cider Review for that matter), there was a certain producer of pet nat bottles the contents of which had a habit of exploding over the kitchen ceiling upon popping the cap. I’m sure they won’t mind me mentioning this now as they are absolutely shining on the UK cider and perry scene these days. A real evolution and flourishing has since occurred. It’s very satisfying to witness. Another producer that arrived on the block shortly on or around that 2020 timeframe is Rull Orchard, Claire Daniels and Mike Shorland from down in Devon. I had tried a few of their early releases across bottle shares at differing Salons and RossFests: all were fine, well made, pleased to have tried releases, and then all of a sudden, they started to radiate. You couldn’t help but take notice of them.

Adam first covered Rull Orchard back in May 2021 on these pages, and Claire has contributed articles on the nature of heritage in cider, and the Cider Women AGM of 2025; whilst Mike gave an excellent account of the reasons behind planting an orchard in the first place on these digital pages. In the real, 3D world, Claire and I took part in a joint discussion on perry pears growing outside the Three Counties at an October PerryFest in Hereford a few years back. Listening to her describe the passion with which she and her partner Mike source perry pears from all across the south west of England, I could tell we were cut from the same cloth. I then met Mike at Little Pomona HQ last year as I was delivering some quarter cask barrels to James. He pulled up to the back of James’ cidery in his van, a look of glee on his face, perry pears in each hand. Mystery pears from a bumper 2025 harvest from orchards nearby. The side door to his van slid open, as he was there to pick up a special barrel from James (the circular barrel economy of cidermakers) and where we were hoping to load the barrel were floor-to-ceiling sacks of perry pears – I could tell we were also cut from the same cloth! It’s a great feeling when you meet like-minded people as an adult, something about them rings a bell which suggests you’re on, if not the same path, then a similar tract in life.

What was the lightening bolt moment that made me stand up and listen to Claire and Mike’s output from Rull you may be wondering? It was the Cold Racked Perry that was (and still is available) included in the Sandford Orchards’ Breakthrough Cider Maker Awards Taster Case. I included it in my list of Top Ciders and Perries of 2025.Gummy fruits, soft tannins, and lovely effervescence, and going back to it now in Summer 2026, a clear evolution in the bottle as it has gotten a tad drier and even tastier. In late Spring I saw their new releases for this year, an assortment of single variety and orchard blend perries to rival a new release drop from Ross on Wye Cider & Perry Co, alongside an intriguing russetted apple blend cider. I couldn’t very well say no! I duly ordered a mixed case, along with a few bottles of their Rull Orchard Vinegar, as I’m one of those folk who like a teaspoon of vinegar in a pint of water every day – it’s just happened to me without quite realising! Before we get into the reviews proper, I gave Claire and Mike a call last week to catch-up and hear how things are going for them down in Devon.

Cider Review: Hi Claire and Mike. How was the 2025 harvest for you and how do you feel it’s developed in bottle so far?

Claire Daniels: The 2025 harvest was really mixed, Mike work incredibly hard to get the fruit – which we were lucky to be selected with, which a lot of people were, weren’t they? It was such a prolific year. In terms of the perries, we managed to get a couple of new sources, so it was quite interesting for us to go out and discover new trees, which is always so exciting when there aren’t many around.

New varieties, new fruit to work with. You learn which macerate well and which don’t and which keep them, what don’t.

Mike Shorland: That was our first run of single variety perries we’ve ever done. We’ve worked with Winnal’s Longdon before using the Champagne method and the barrel-ageing method. But this is the first time I’ve ever done a single variety. We kind of understood Winnal’s, we knew if we racked it a few times, we could keep a little bit of sweetness, to balance that, kind of, quite punchy acidity. Barnet, Oldfield, and Gin, was the first time we have ever produced these as single variety perries. I think the Gin was quite lively. Did you find that?

Cider Review: I’d put it in the fridge all day, so it was well chilled, but when I popped the cap, I had to hold the glass over it to very quickly fill it and then inside the bottle. It was really, it was really going some with the bubbles!

Mike Shorland: I bottled that at an SG of 1.015,  it has turned out to be quite lively!

Cider Review: There was this Mediterranean note that was kind of threading itself through quite a lot of your bottlings. I recently been to see The Odyssey in IMAX but I don’t think it influenced me that much! Different producers have their own kind of house styles when they wild ferment. I wonder if this is what’s developing with your drinks? In weather like this hot summer of 2026 it works very well.

Mike Shorland: That’s a really interesting thing to say because we picked from various orchards. So it can’t be like an orchard specific thing, it must be kind of a house style, wild ferment thing.

Cider Review: I really liked that Winnal’s Longdon, that cold-racking was such a neat trick to keep a bit of residual sugar in it. I know people say Blakeney Red is the gateway perry, but I think your Winnal’s Longdon could be served to anyone and they’d be won over instantly.

Claire Daniels: What’s really nice about that one is that most people who’ve never even tried perry before are just blown away.

Cider Review: Is this the first season you’ve been able to get fruit from trees that you’ve grafted yourselves?

Mike Shorland: We’ve got over 70 pear trees at our place now, which consists of about 45 perry and 25 dessert pears. That’s the first time we’ve taken our harvest from thos trees. For the Full Rull bottle there was fruit taken from two Thorn, half a dozen Winnal’s Longdon on a double tree. Our Hendre Huffcap had about 30 pears to pick. Um, and there’s quite a lot of dessert pears in there as well, like Beurre Hardy, Williams, and Beth. We started them in demi-johns and then combined them all in a blend at the end. We’re quite excited because we’ll make this blend each year, with our own perry pears, which should produce a single provenance expression that evolves as the trees age.

Cider Review: How do you both feel about being able to produce a perry from your own trees and not having to go further afield? It’s fun to do that adventurous bit, isn’t it? But it must be really satisfying just to have fruit from your own orchard?

Claire Daniels:  I think we don’t we take enough time to stop really and look at how the  trees have developed. Being able to get a harvest of them and make a product is very rewarding!

Mike Shorland: You’ve planted perry pear trees Jack? How are yours faring? Will you get any fruit from them this year?

Cider Review: Oh no, I think I’m about 5-7 years away from fruit in my back garden orchard. In my friend Ben’s orchard a few villages down the road, there may be some this year for a few of the earlier trees I planted. It’s a lot of watering this year! Setting up an orchard is really time-intensive.

Mike Shorland: Especially when the trees are young. We put most of our trees in during Summer 2019 and it seemed especially hot then, the trees would have only been 2 years old and they need so much water to keep going. It was quite a nervous period with 150 trees in the ground. The root balls were small then. They looked so fragile. Now our trees are a bit older. The apple trees are 7 or 8 years old now, not much fruit but the trees seem really healthy.

Cider Review: What’s the survival rate of your trees been like?

Mike Shorland: I think we only lost 1 or 2 trees overall. We bought them from a good source and tried to get them in the ground quite early in the winter. I think that’s much better than leaving it till early spring. The ground is good here with lots of clay to hold water. Woodchip and mulch was very important.

Claire Daniels: The success rate was quite high on the trees but we put a lot of work in to it to make it like that. The one tree I remember we lost, we somewhat overlooked it a bit. Mulched it up to the graft line and it didn’t like it.

Cider Review: In Luckwill & Pollard’s Perry Pears book it really doesn’t mention perry trees growing in Devon that much, even in the experimental orchards section from 1908 – 1918. Why do you think Devon is so well known for cider but not for perry?

Claire Daniels: We’re not totally sure, but we certainly find that it’s incredibly rare to find mature perry pear trees around here.

Mike Shorland: I think we just don’t have that tradition stemming from the 1800s of planting and growing perry pear trees around here. We went to the Domfrant in Spring and that was wild for us. We were out driving and there were perry pear orchards all around.

Claire Daniels: Mike will go out on a bike ride and take pictures of any he finds. A good way of discovering them.

Cider Review: Following in the footsteps of Durham, Williams, and Martell! That slower way of traversing the countryside is a great way of discovering these trees. Are there any varieties you’d still like to add to your orchard?

Claire Daniels: I’d love a Flakey Bark tree! We had a single variety from Ross Cider a few years ago and we absolutely loved it! A very intense drink.

Mike Shorland: We’ve got most of the ones you can buy from nurseries in the orchard.

Cider Review: That’s part of the story, but there’s loads of varieties that have yet to make it back into nurseries for one reason or another. I’ve never seen Flakey Bark in a nursery as of yet. It would be great to see some more in the nurseries over the coming years to help spread the genetic material around.

Mike Shorland: They’ll be grafting the ones that sell I assume. Everyone’s heard of Thorn and Blakeney Red. There wouldn’t be much point in grafting 100 trees of a variety they could never shift.

Cider Review: That would be THE bold move of a nursery! 100 grafts of Flakey Bark. Go big or go home! It would be fascinating to see a Devonshire Flakey Bark, a Herfordshire Flakey Bark, a Norfolk Flakey Bark etc. Thank you so much for talking to me and good luck with the impending Harvest 2026, it’s coming up quick!

I am finishing this article off at the end of July 2026 so the harvest of fruit for this year really is rapidly advancing in the rear-view mirror! Very much looking forward to it I must say. After that catch-up with Claire and Mike, onto the drink reviews at hand.

Rull Orchard, Winnal’s Longdon 2025 – review

How I served: A couple of hours in the fridge in the afternoon and then out for 10 minutes in the sitting room.

Appearance: Rich Amalfi lemon hue, good effervescence in the liquid but curiously no mousse whatsoever. Great clarity.

On the nose: This is the Italian or French Mediterranean Coast in a glass! BBQ lemon, honeysuckle, fresh pears at the market. The aroma of this sings of Summer 2025 and its sun-kissed, long days.

In the mouth: Cold racking the liquid a few times before bottling has left a gorgeous level of residual sugar to compliment the citric acidity, whilst keeping the abv low for a 2025 season perry at 4.5%. Medium sweet delivery, so very accessible to a wide range of palates. There’s a real rich lemon curd quality to this drink, unctuous is how I’d describe it. I feel like this is a perry for Nigella Lawson! It’s all the beautiful jazzy, estery and acidic top notes in the mix you’d come to look from perries the deeper you dive into this wonderful world.

In a nutshell: Move over Blakeney Red, this is the gateway Perry to bring many more into the fold! A super clean, refreshing, summery beauty – well done Claire and Mike.

Rull Orchard, New Meadow – review

How I served: A couple of hours in the fridge and then 10 minutes in the sitting room.

Appearance: Pale peachy hue, light effervescence, slightest of hazes to the liquid, no mousse.

On the nose: Haribo Happy Peach gummies, strawberries and cream, slight whiff of velichor. As it warms in the glass there’s a hint of celery, aniseed, and a sherried note.

In the mouth: That sherried note is instantly here on the first sip, stewed pear, brown sugar, crème brulé crisped-tops. I’ve tasted this in a few perries before but cannot put my finger on quite what it is or means. New Meadow is not a variety I’ve encountered that often before, I think I had a bottle from Wilding. As this liquid has a bit of time to air in the glass, there’s a ripe raspberry note to the proceedings. Indeed, going back to the aroma after it has had 20 minutes with the cap popped, that sherried note has gone and instead in its place, elderflower and fresh pear juice. Fascinating to see the progression of this over time in the glass.10.4% abv.

In a nutshell: A slow revealer, give it time in the glass and it will reward you. Better still, treat yourself to a decanter and let this perry showcase its qualities.

Rull Orchard, Gin 2025 – review

How I served: a day in the fridge then 10 minutes in a sweltering hot sitting room – summer is in full swing!

Appearance: Pale lemon hue, with a hint of kiwi green, strong effervescence both in the glass and the bottle which is still going some, I poured it quickly after popping the cap so as not to loose any liquid. Great clarity, and a persistent mousse on the top of the perry.

On the nose: An inviting velichor nose, that familiar smell of leather-bound books to all library lovers out there. Russeted pear skin, and a blast from the past…caramac bar. Limes and white grapefruit there at the back.

In the mouth: A frizzante of white currant, rosemary, poached pear and green kiwi. The tannins I would usually expect to find in a single variety Gin Perry have softened to an almost imperceptible extent. A gorgeous level of fizz, elevating the 4% abv and medium dry presentation. This is taking me straight to Italy for the second time in this tasting! Devon via Treviso or Venice. After 20 minutes of the bottle being open I’m getting a lovely Parma Violets note too. What a drink!

In a nutshell: A sublime and elegant expression of Gin pear, seek it out for your summer BBQs and an antidote to 30°C+ days.

Rull Orchard, Full Rull Perry 2025 – review

How I served: A day in the fridge then 10 minutes out in the heat of the sitting room.

Appearance: Pastel lemon and peachy hue, medium effervescence, thinnest of single bubble mousse around the rim of the glass.

On the nose: A fruit salad bowl, there’s red grapefruit, pineapple, and papaya. Little note of cucumber water to follow.

In the mouth: When you get orchard blends right, like this perry, everything works in harmony. There’s an apricot frangipane note, freshly baked brioche, gentle acidity to compliment a bit of the residual sweetness. There was a tropicality I tried in a Gregg’s Pitt Perry at the Museum of Cider competition this year that is reminding me of this perry. It’s both Hubba Bubba and Haribo alongside some no doubt extremely rare perry pear varieties. Did I mention the 7%abv from that big, bold 2025 season of high SGs (which we’ll probably see replicated for 2026 the way summer is going so far). The fact they all come from Rull Orchard’s own home-grown trees is amazing, and a testament to the work Claire and Mike have put in establishing their perry-making in Devon. Is there Blakeney Red and Hendre Huffcap in this orchard blend? Would be fascinating to find out. (Ed: a mix of Perry pears and dessert pears)

In a nutshell: An empowering orchard blend perry full of tropical, estery notes galore. Here’s to the coming seasons of Full Rull!

Rull Orchard, Barnet 2025 – review

How I served: A day in the fridge then 10 minutes in the sitting room.

Appearance: This is presented in a corked 750ml bottle, suggesting still presentation, but when I poured it, there’s a mild level of effervescence- hopefully those corks hold long term. Lemon gold hue, good clarity, no mousse.

On the nose: A tantalising initial aroma of freshly cut wheat fields, russeted pear skin, something slightly umami that I can’t put my finger on, an Asian cooking paste, a whiff of bergamot and geranium at play too. As it acclimatises to room temperature a divine scent of jasmine and honeysuckle wafts out the glass.

In the mouth: Little prickle of effervescence gives a very nice mouthfeel, stewed gooseberry and pear in abundance. Medium level of sweetness, with a lingering aftertaste. This would pair perfectly with a fish pie, or some kind of whipped feta, walnut and chicory dish. That jasmine note coming through on the palate too, carried on the 6.5% abv of the drink, reminding me of a sweet jasmine green tea.

In a nutshell: One of the most elegant expressions of a single variety Barnet Perry I think I’ve ever tried. Pick up a bottle straight away!

Rull Orchard, Oldfield 2025 – review

How I served: A day in the fridge then 10 minutes in the sitting room.

Appearance: White grapefruit skin hue, merest of effervescence, brilliant clarity, no mousse.

On the nose: Absolutely agree with the label’s notes on lemon, lime and Mediterranean herbs. If you want to go further North as well with the tasting notes I’d say flowering heather and Scots Pine needles.

In the mouth: Lime zest and Scots Pine needles, some of that resinous sap you get on the logs too, a bit of incense stick and patchouli. I love Oldfield as a variety, you don’t see enough of it out there for what it delivers in the glass. I’ve planted a tree in my orchard but many years off the fruit being ready. Medium dry presentation, but there’s a gentle acidity that manifests in that lime note that really balances everything. Poached pear, cranberry, and bbq’d pineapple coming through on the 6.5% abv the liquid sits at. A glorious cacophony of flavours from this perry pear that deserves to be much more widely planted and utilised than it is.

In a nutshell: If you want an olfactory experience to remember, seek out a single variety Oldfield Perry like this one, it won’t disappoint!

Rull Orchard, Russet Blend 2024 – review

How I served: A day in the fridge then 15 minutes in the sitting room.

Appearance: Hazy straw gold, completely still (this bottling has a cork so makes sense), and no mousse.

On the nose: Has the aroma of Cox’s Apple Juice, a little rhubarb and fennel coming through too as it warms.

In the mouth: Texturally there’s a lovely viscosity at play with this cider, it rolls around in the mouth with a satisfying oiliness. Ah yes I should mention, this is the one cider of the tasting, back to apples for a second. Dry in its presentation, there’s a bitterness I get on the roof of my mouth after each sip which is a curious place to get it. Apparently the roof of our mouth is a highly sensitive place to taste the tannic bitterness you get in cider apples – I usually experience it on the gums and side of the mouth myself. There’s something of the aftertaste of wet walnut in this, I know nuttiness is attributed to russeted apple varieties in cider terms. 7.5% abv from the 2024 wet vintage, but…russet apples are often packing the sugar levels so this makes sense. Quite a long finish to each sip.

In a nutshell: A really intriguing russet apple cider blend, one for those that have tried the Egremont Russet single varieties and want to dive a little deeper.

Rull Orchard, Moonlight – review

How I served: A day in the fridge and then 15 minutes out in the sitting room.

Appearance: Old gold hue, brilliant clarity, good level of effervescence, mousse around the rim of the glass.

On the nose: An explosively fruity, tropical nose – kiwi, papaya, and pineapple. Hints of the booziness to follow!

In the mouth: An effervescent prickle of gooseberry, raspberry, and grilled pineapple. This is an 8% abv traditional method perry, big on the flavour, has a bit of a winey quality so wonder if this one was pitched with a wine yeast? Great mouthfeel, medium dry presentation. There’s a nectarine quality to this on the palate which coats the mouth.

In a nutshell: Raise a glass to traditional method Rull Orchard Perry! One for the special occasions.

Conclusion

It’s very wholesome and satisfying to watch a producer grow and evolve before your eyes. That is most certainly what is happening here with Claire and Mike at Rull Orchard. That drive to release single varieties will keep on intensifying over the coming years as their trees mature and their list of orchards to pick from increases. I love the presentation styles of their 750ml bottles – some of them are bottle shapes I haven’t seen any other producer in the UK using (must come at a keen pricepoint), which will be a useful differentiator on the shelves of bottle shops no doubt. There are a smattering of 500ml orchard blend ciders from Rull out there in the wild also…I wonder if they’re doing BIBs to cater to the CAMRA cider bars? More producers like Rull entering their wares at these festivals will surely help lift the quality of liquid on display up a few notches, aligning them more with the ethos of the Three Counties Cider and Perry Association than the National Association of Cider Makers (if you know…you know). Full juice, wild ferment, single varieties, lovely people. It’s perry and cider that makes you feel a bit better about the world you live in, and in times like these, that is a welcome thing to find and bring into your home. Here’s to lots of you out there discovering bottles from Rull Orchard in the coming months!