Collection: INTRODUCING
Calvados Pacory

Frédéric works with his wife Catherine, and has been joined in recent years by their son Simon, the 4th generation Pacory to farm. As with many of the Calvados producers we work with, the Pacorys are in polyculture, raising dairy cows in addition to fruit. On the morning of our most recent visit, as the team was hard at work hand-harvesting pears from a parcel of hundred-plus year old trees, the cows took turns leaving the barn for their morning post-milking roam.

The Pacorys’ focus on making beautiful, vinous poiré (cider made from pears), but also produce a small amount of Calvados each year. After harvest, the poiré intended for distilling is fermented and run through a traveling column still that the family shares with their neighbors Martine and Didier Lemorton (yes, those Lemortons!).  As is the case for most brandy from the region, it is run through the still just one time (the only double-distilled Calvados is found north in the Pays d’Auge by the English Channel) and comes out around 70% alcohol.

Unlike many other producers, Frederic has maintained a small selection of unreduced barrels across the farm's three small aging cellars. The younger high-proof vintages have become something of a cult favorite for certain San Francisco and New York bartenders in recent years. We were attracted to their older juice, in the 15 to 24 year range, and have recently made the first-ever single barrel picks that the domaine has bottled!

For more in-depth history on the Pacory family, we’ll quote our friend Charles Neal from his book, Calvados:

“The Domfrontais takes its name from the city Domfront, located in the Southern part of Normandy in the Orne department and about an hour and a half east of Mont Saint-Michel. Because of the deep clay soils (usually more than 1 meter of topsoil) and the firm granite sub-soils, pear trees grow better than apple trees and poiré, also known as perry or pear cider in English-speaking countries, has always been the specialty of the region.”

The Pacory family has been in the Domfrontais since the beginning of the 1800’s and have lived on the farm Ferme de Grimaux since 1939. At first their principal activity was raising cows, primarily for their milk but also for their meat. As cows need grazing space, tall apple and pear trees planted on high, standard rootstock allowed both types of agriculture to coexist. From this fruit, the family pressed cider and poiré and distilled calvados for their own consumption.

In 1959, Claude Pacory extended the farm and planted more trees. He also decided to sell his bottles for the first time. His products gained recognition in competition and prizes began rolling in, including a first place trophy in 1971 for Best Cave in the Domfrontais. In 1986, Frederic Pacory, with his wife Catherine, took over the domaine. Together they have established themselves as highly respected poiré and calvados producers within the region.

Their 90-hectare property is planted with 700 pear trees (all of them tall and many of them over 100 years old) and 400 apple trees (all of them tall and most over 25 years old). Their orchards are entirely organic and none of the trees nor their soil has ever seen a chemical treatment. About a dozen new trees are planted each year when other trees die or get blown over. In this way the next generation is assured of having an orchard full of old, fruit-bearing trees.”