Bittersweet · 44 trees planted · confidence high
The benchmark English bittersweet and one of the most planted cider varieties in Somerset, with small yellow-green fruit flecked red. WSU Mount Vernon measured SG 1.055, 13.5 Brix, 0.22% malic acid, 0.24% tannin, pH 4.41 and an excellent 242 mL/lb juice yield, with productivity 3.7/5, semi-spur bearing, spreading habit and semi-alternate bearing. It is self-fertile and flowers late, and is one of the few varieties that can stand as a single-varietal cider — though see the sensory caveat below.
Disease: No standout resistance; treat as ordinary susceptibility for scab and canker in a wet climate. Late flowering (WSU mean bloom 5/19, the latest of the WSU-recorded varieties in this planting) gives useful spring frost avoidance.
Discrepancies: Chemistry agrees well between WSU Mount Vernon (SG 1.055, 0.22% acid, 0.24% tannin) and Long Ashton (SG 1.055-1.057, 0.18% acid, 0.29% tannin) — the closest agreement of any variety in this set, so confidence is high. Two smaller conflicts. Harvest: English sources say late October into November, WSU records 10/14 — used the WSU date for local planning. Sensory is the interesting one: English literature almost universally describes Dabinett's tannin as soft, well-integrated and well-balanced, whereas WSU's professional taster panel found tannins are harsh and tend to dominate flavor and recommended it as a blender for those not wanting a robust single-varietal. Recommended flagging both readings rather than picking one, since the WSU panel tasted fruit grown in this climate but the English view reflects far more cidermaking history. Practical read: do not assume a soft single-varietal here without trialing it.