Northern Spy. ( Minerality: salt and shale)

We love NS for its minerality; however, this is definitely one of those apples that is fairly insipid when grown and harvested like dessert fruit in the wrong location. Our Spy is specifically the original strain, not “Red Spy” which ferments very differently. It has a neutral sort of fresh/unripe apple aroma when fermented that verges into a salty/ shale austerity. Grown on our dry gravelly ground, it has a refreshing acid-tannin component that is very much wet stone. We often use this as the last blending component; a blend that has the right structure and aromatics will often take on a new level of depth with 10% or 15% Northern Spy.