Sold Out
Aeblerov & Riffault

Brutal!!! Cider 2016

Price: $36.95
Enter your email address below to be notified when this product is back in stock.
Tasting notes

This cider sits at the intersection of natural wine and wild fermentation — bone dry with sharp citrus acidity, funky fermented-apple depth, and a chalky mineral finish that comes directly from aging in Sébastien Riffault's retired Sancerre barrels. The Rød Aroma apple variety holds its aromatic identity through spontaneous fermentation, giving the glass a raspberry and blood-orange brightness that most ciders never achieve.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
RaspberryBlood OrangeLemonFermented Apple
  • Style: Dry, lightly sparkling natural cider; pale gold with fine bubbles; sharp citrus acidity; ~6.5% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Rød Aroma (Danish eating apple); certified organic; Danish moraine clay orchards; aged in retired Sébastien Riffault Sancerre barrels
  • Winemaking: Spontaneous fermentation on native fruit yeasts; no added yeast, sugar, or sulfur; méthode ancestrale secondary fermentation in bottle; unfined and unfiltered
  • Serving: Serve well chilled at 38-42°F; pour gently to manage sediment or embrace the lees
  • Pairing: Raw oysters, pickled herring, smoked salmon, fresh chèvre, cucumber-dill salads
  • Similar To: For fans of pét-nat and funky natural wine who want to explore beyond grapes

Brutal!!! is a collaboration between Æblerov, the Copenhagen-based natural cidery founded in 2011 by Christopher Melin and Morten Sylvest-Noer, and Sébastien Riffault, the biodynamic vigneron from Sury-en-Vaux in Sancerre. The 2016 is made from organic Rød Aroma apples sourced from Danish orchards, fermented with native yeasts from the fruit's own surface, and aged in retired Riffault barriques — the same barrels that held his limestone-and-silex Sancerre cuvées.

Æblerov presses each apple variety individually using a low-pressure press, macerates the must for 24 hours before fermentation begins, and adds nothing — no yeast, no sugar, no sulfur. Secondary fermentation occurs in bottle on residual natural sugars in the méthode ancestrale style, producing fine, persistent bubbles. The result is bottled unfined and unfiltered with natural lees sediment present.

The Riffault barrel component, labeled Akmèniné in Riffault's Lithuanian-named lineup, refers to his stony limestone and silex terroir at Sury-en-Vaux. The cider's time in those spent barrels adds a faint oxidative texture and mineral echo without contributing sulfur or additives of any kind. The overall profile runs bone dry with pronounced acidity, funky fermented-apple character, raspberry and citrus notes, and a chalky, lingering finish.

The high acidity and dry finish make this a strong match for raw oysters, pickled herring, or fresh chèvre. It also works well alongside smoked salmon, cucumber salads with dill, or any dish in the new Nordic idiom. Avoid anything heavily sweet or tannic — the cider's delicacy gets overwhelmed.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Sparkling Wine
Wine Style:, Sparkling
Grapes:, Rød Aroma
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2016
Alcohol:, 6.5%
Country:, Denmark
Region:, Copenhagen
Appellation:, Vin de Table
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Aeblerov & Riffault

Æblerov was founded in 2011 by Christopher Melin and Morten Sylvest-Noer, two food science students at the University of Copenhagen who had been working in natural wine bars. They started in a garage in Vanløse with DKK 1,500 in capital, sourcing apples from friends' backyards and neighborhood gardens — hence the name, which translates to 'apple theft' in Danish. Their first year produced 65 bottles. By 2016, when the Brutal!!! cider was produced, they had grown to around 26,000 bottles annually and had moved production to a larger facility in Valby, housed at the To Øl microbrewery.

Æblerov sources organic apples from select Danish orchards and private growers. Apples are pressed individually by variety using a low-pressure press to prevent bitterness from broken kernels. The must is macerated for 24 hours before spontaneous fermentation begins, driven entirely by wild yeasts living on the fruit skin. No yeast, sugar, sulfur, or other additives are used at any stage. Bottling is done without fining or filtration, with natural lees left in the bottle.

Sébastien Riffault farms 12 hectares of biodynamic Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir at Sury-en-Vaux in Sancerre, Loire Valley. He converted to organic in 2007 and to biodynamic farming in 2004, plowing part of his vineyard with horses. He harvests late, often with significant botrytis, ferments with wild yeasts in old barrels, and bottles by gravity with no added SO2 and no fining or filtration. The Brutal!!! collaboration uses Riffault's retired barrels — the same vessels that held his stony, silex-inflected Akmèniné cuvée — to age the Rød Aroma apple cider.

Wine region

Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark sits at the northern edge of viable fruit growing in Europe, with a cool maritime climate moderated by the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Temperatures are too cold for commercial grape cultivation in most years, but the long, cool ripening season produces apples with exceptional aromatic complexity and high natural acidity. Soils are predominantly moraine clay left by glacial activity, which drains well and supports organic orchard farming across the country.

There is no formal appellation system for Danish cider. Producers like Æblerov work with Danish eating apple varieties — Rød Aroma, Ingrid Marie, Holsteiner Cox — rather than the tannin-heavy cider apples used in Normandy or the English West Country. These eating varieties produce ciders that are more aromatic and vinous than tannic, which is why they have found placement at fine-dining restaurants in Copenhagen including Noma, Geranium, and Kadeau.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

This collection features our best selling natural wine from all around the world. It's the best place to start you natural wine journey! Browse one of the largest selections of natural wine available online in the United States.

Primal Wine Natural Wine Club is the best way to discover natural wine. Let us do the heavy-lifting, sit back, and relax. We will send you an ever-changing selection of natural wine made by top producers from around the world.

Our customers love Primal

I'm just copying and pasting from the hundreds messages we received, no pseudo reviews!
Erin C.

We love our membership so far and can't wait until our next shipment.

Jennifer B.

A note to say that we are loving the tasting notes sheet you’re sending!

James S.

I'm really happy to find Primal – your selections are terrific. 

Samuel M.

Love your company, always a great wine selection. 

Chelsea V.

I love what you guys do!

What Is | Primal Wine

What is natural wine?

Natural wine is a type of wine made in small batches from organic or biodynamic grapes with minimal intervention.
What Is Biodynamic Wine Info Cards | Primal Wine

What is Biodynamics?

Biodynamic wine is wine made from grapes farmed biodynamically. Biodynamic farming is a holistic approach.
What Is Organic Wine Info Cards | Primal Wine

What is organic wine?

Organic wine is made with grapes farmed organically. Organic farming is an alternative to conventional farming.
What Is Vegan Wine Info Cards | Primal Wine

What is vegan wine?

Vegan wine is wine made without using animal products during the fining phase of the clarification process.