Belle Brutale was born of necessity, after a late frost wiped out Jacques Perritaz's own Fribourg harvest and sent him foraging for apples in Normandy and the Perche. The result is jaw dropping, bone dry and intensely saline, closer to a fino sherry or sea spray than a typical cider. Hand riddled and hand disgorged with no sulfur, no enzymes and no filtration, it reveals remarkable precision, clarity and a long, textured finish beneath the initial shock. This 2017 vintage is a minimalist, almost sculptural expression of salinity, a genuinely adult drink...