I said in Sunday’s look ahead to the month on the blog that Twin Cities restaurant reports would be posted on Tuesdays as per usual, with booze reviews on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as per usual—and here I am, just two days later, already a liar. I’m afraid I didn’t have the time on Sunday or Monday to resize the photographs from this weekend’s eating out, and so here is the second brandy review of the week. The series began yesterday with a very old Armagnac. It continues today with a considerably less old, though far from very young Calvados. I noted yesterday that it had been a long time since my last Armagnac review. The same is even more true of my last Calvados review: the last one was posted more than 7 years ago. That was a review of an excellent Michel Huard and in the comments on that review you can read a spirited argument with my old nemesis, Sku. As it happens, Sku was the source of the sample of the Calvados I am reviewing today, which was an exclusive for Astor Wines in New York. I can’t remember when he gave it to me, but I can tell you I am disappointed by how conventional the sample label he made for it is. I guess he sold out.

Domaine Montreuil 15 (42%; for Astor Wines; from a sample from a friend)

Nose: Apple juice stirred with a heated cinnamon stick; behind that is some earth and some dry, dusty oak. As it sits, the metallic note emerges here as well but it’s quite faint. With a lot more time and air the apple takes on a mildly baked character.

Palate: Comes in with a slight metallic/chemical edge but otherwise as indicated by the nose. Decent bite and texture at 42%. Continues in this vein. With more time/air it turns sweeter and the metallic note dissipates. The spicy notes start emerging earlier as it sits.

Finish: Medium. Spicier as it goes. With time the sweeter notes hang out longer.

Comments: This is very pleasant even if not particularly interesting/complex. As with yesterday’s armagnac, I liked the interplay of the oak with the fruit more than people who know my antipathy to overly-wooded spirits might expect.

Rating: 84 points