Silex is made from the apples picked from trees that grow in flint (silex in French) soils on the higher slopes of Julien's orchard above the cellars, where the ground is littered with flint cailloux (small rocks). It is the driest and most savoury of the ciders, and very good with food. This year it is a particularly intense orange colour, the sort of colour that stops you in your tracks if you pass a glass. 5.9% ABV.

Julien Fremont is a cider maker of rare dedication, working from his family's ancient cidrerie in use since the 1750s. His process is entirely hands-on: apples picked late in the year are aged in a loft to intensify flavour, then pulped and pressed using a 1920s machine his grandfather bought, recently restored after catastrophic damage. Fermentation happens in various vessels before bottling at precisely the moment when gentle carbonation captures both the fruit's essence and its terroir.

The bottling setup resembles serious home brewing rather than industrial production, and bees nest in the roof above his bottle storage. It is difficult to imagine a place more removed from the soulless factories where bulk cider is made. The ciders are all from the 2023 vintage, except for Piterne, a newish cuvée which is always a blend of two different vintages.