The Good
“Good value for the range”.
“Practical”.
“Nice bottle design”.
“Light carbonation, as promised”.
“Good level of acidity”.
“Woodiness clearly apparent”.
“Full flavoured”.
“Pleasant mouthfeel”.
“Sweetness apparent”.
“Fruity and natural smell as promised”.
“Well balanced”.
“Smooth”.
The Bad
“Not quite sweet enough”.
“Mouthfeel not as thick as promised”.
“No bottle backstory”.
“Dryness barely noticeable”.
“Too rich”.
“Not session-able”.
Introduction
Sediment clinging to the side of the bottle alludes to the name Henry Westons medium dry “Cloudy” vintage. It is the word cloudy which distinguishes the drink from others in the new Westons range (March 2020).
Packaging
In terms of practicality, this drink clocks in with 500ml at 7.3% ABV, providing 3.7 units of alcohol. This sits within the top end of the Governments’ old “Do not regularly exceed” range for men, suggesting one is perfectly practical for an evening of responsible drinking.
It also only cost £2 from Tesco, which was cheaper than Vintage Rose (£2.20), for just 2.8 units, and the vintage organic at £2.09 for 3 units. This makes it the most practical of the range introduced in March 2020.
Expectations
The label asserts Full-bodied and fruity character. This suggests to me something natural and unique, with a fuller mouthfeel. 2019 is iterated as the year of vintage in which all the apples are produced for this drink.
Slowly matured and spending time in oak vats is a common sight amongst Westons vintage cider reviews, as linked below, such as the Westons “medium dry oak aged vintage”. This drink is no exception.
Id therefore hope for some woody nature, and a full and distinctive taste. Both the title of the drink, and the rear label suggest medium dryness.
With its lightly clouded and sparkling appearance, I’d suggest light carbonation too.
This assertion is supported by the bottle rear label.
Whilst not specified, I’d expect a reasonable level of acidity, primarily due to the drink being cloudy, as was the case in Westons Old Rosie, another cloudy offering (linked below).
So in summary: Full mouthfeel, light carbonation, at least moderate acidity, medium dryness, and some natural sweetness due to the “fruity” descriptor will be anticipated, along with a fresh and fruity scent.
Smell
The smell is pleasantly sweet and natural. It doesn’t last that long, yet is weakly apparent on subsequent inhalation’s.
Taste
Carbonation is clearly very light and barely noticeable. The taste is reasonably tangy, with a good level of woodiness. The taste is well balanced since although it is tangy, this isn’t overpowering. Perhaps the sweetness could be increased slightly. The aftertaste persists for some time in a tangy way, but the aftertaste isn’t noticeably dry whilst it does make you swallow. This suggests a low level of dryness may be apparent.
In terms of a full mouthfeel, I’d suggest it’s a fairly thick medium, but not quite full. The flavour however packs a punch so more than makes up for this.
Since it’s quite rich, I don’t feel it would be ideal for a session, and is therefore not sessionable.
Summary
Tangy and woody offering. Not unique though.
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#123 Henry Weston’s medium-dry “aged finish” (2017) cider review (8/10) – “A nicely balanced, sweet and fruity cider. Clearly natural, yet not unique with tartness superior.”
Henry Westons vintage “medium dry Oak aged” review
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#39 Westons’ Old Rosie cloudy cider ” Excellent full-bodied medium-dry lacking fruity sweetness”- (9/10)
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