Heidrun Sparkling Meads

[wildoates]

We opened a bottle of the Heidrun Carrot Blossom last night, and oh, my, it was darned tasty. It looks like a golden champagne, but when you sniff it it's all honey, all the time--it was rather startling, actually, because you expect to smell champagne/sparkling wine made with grapes, but get that lovely honey scent instead. Gorgeous in the glass. Extremely carbonated, which I happen to like.

There is a hint of a sort of barnyard smell when you sniff at it--the best I can do to describe that is that buckwheat smell you get when you use that honey--although not nearly like the two meads I've tasted made with eastern buckwheat--it's just barely there. It's also the first thing you taste, but then the honey comes rushing through and dominates until the very end when you're left with a delicious tartness that tastes almost citrusy. That lingers for a long while. It's way better than champagne. Everyone who tasted it liked it a lot.

We'll drink the other bottle of Heidrun (MN clover? I can't remember) for our Christmas dinner tomorrow night and I'll report back on that here too.

 

[Smarrikåka]

There is a hint of a sort of barnyard smell when you sniff at it--the best I can do to describe that is that buckwheat smell you get when you use that honey--although not nearly like the two meads I've tasted made with eastern buckwheat--it's just barely there. It's also the first thing you taste, but then the honey comes rushing through and dominates until the very end when you're left with a delicious tartness that tastes almost citrusy.

I haven't tasted the Carrot Blossom, but I know that Gordon, who runs the meadery, considers it one of his least favourites, so maybe the barnyard aspect is why.

 

[wildoates]

Well, sorry to say I ended up in bed before Christmas dinner and so didn't get to taste the other sparkling mead--alas! I asked my son what he thought of it, and he said he liked the carrot blossom better--but knowing his taste that might have more to do with dryness than anything, as he likes his wine dry.

I didn't find that "barnyard" smell at all offputting, just a bit noticeable. Nothing like the strength of, for comparison, Fox Hill's buckwheat mead, which I didn't like all that much as the buckwheat was too much for my taste. I know people do like it, and I am sure Fox Hill does a good job with it, it's just not a taste I enjoy all that much. The carrot blossom only had the slightest hint of something sort of like that. I'm miffed I couldn't taste the other one!

 

[andrewschwab]

Good to hear Gordon is not found of the carrot.
I can only HOPE he leaves the carrot honey alone. yummm tasty

I got caught with my pants down cause he purchased a good sum of it a while back. So I didn't get my hands on my usuall share

 

[Smarrikåka]

Pants down...no carrot...didn't get your hands full.

That sounds dirty...who knows, maybe he lied to me, to keep me from buying it, and get all that rabbit love for himself.

 

[Merry927]

Heidrun relocated to Point Reyes Station in 2011. My partner and I did a tour just yesterday after tasting the Hawaiian macadamia nut blossom and carrot blossom bought at different times in the past six months.

They are out of macadamia nut blossom now and this time around we tasted the Hawaiian Lehua blossom, California avocado blossom, carrot blossom, and orange blossom.

The lovely thing about this mead is the aroma captured in the effervescence of the champagne bubbles. All of them have delicate and distinctive aromas. The carrot and orange blossom meads have very recognizable scents and that makes them kind of impressive. This batch of carrot blossom must have improved. The mead maker is continuing to make it, for one thing. Also there was nothing of a “barnyard” aspect to this one.

The Lehua blossom was even lighter and more floral, but the avocado blossom was more interesting than the rest in some ways. It has a bit more bite, but does not have any bitterness, which our tour guide said was a hallmark of the honey. Unlike the others, you don’t get any aroma or flavor that is immediately reminiscent of avocado, but there is this different mouth feel that reminds of the oiliness of avocado, which was pleasant.

It seems like the mead maker has really gotten his method down and is doing an excellent job of making mead to highlight the complexity and aroma of these varietals. They are all elegant and delicious.

Of interest was the fact that mead maker has been doing everything by himself and they are just starting to mechanize a little bit. The meadery moved to Point Reyes Station so that they could raise their own bees. This has pretty much been a flop so far, as they lost all their original hives. Obviously this person is adept at learning though and they have new ones. But having enough of their own honey to make mead is still a way off in the future.

The place is beautiful though and worth the trip. We saw a bobcat while there. Apparently, it has been used in place of a rest home for their elderly chickens a time or two! I couldn’t help but exclaim, “You fed the bobcat?!” *lol* So great mead makers, not so great as farmers, but like I said, this guy obviously can learn things and take them to the next level of excellence, so it will be interesting to see what comes out of Heidrun in the future.