Origin and production
The 12-year-old Camut is produced entirely from apples grown at Domaine de Semainville in the Pays d'Auge. High-stem orchards planted to a broad selection of heritage varieties provide the sweet, bitter and acidic fruit needed to create a complex cider for distillation.
After 10–11 months fermenting in wood, the dry cider is distilled twice in the family's wood-fired copper pot stills. The eau-de-vie then spends at least 12 years in large, seasoned oak vats and tonneaux, gaining texture and spice while preserving the clarity of its apple character.
Tasting notes
Appearance
Deep amber-gold with copper reflections and a clear, glossy rim.
Nose
Baked red apple, wildflower honey and cream are layered with cinnamon, nutmeg and a quiet smoky note.
Palate
Soft and rounded, with apple tart, toffee and roasted orchard fruit carried by well-integrated warmth. Seasoned oak contributes fine spice rather than overt tannin, and the finish is pure, harmonious and lingering.
Serving suggestions
Pour neat in a tulip-shaped glass and allow it to rest briefly. Pair with Camembert baked with rosemary, apple crumble, or roast pork with cider sauce, or serve alone as a composed after-dinner drink.
Background story
Domaine de Semainville is a family-run Pays d'Auge property where orchards, cider making, distillation and ageing remain closely connected. The Camuts' long, patient fermentations and distinctive wood-fired stills set their production apart from more industrial Calvados.
Twelve years of maturation places this bottling at a compelling midpoint in the range: deeper and more rounded than the six-year-old, yet still centred on vivid apple fruit rather than the darker rancio of the oldest blends.
