C2 Leader

You has to eat a peck o sharpie to be a nappleman true, as John Chapman once said.

Today's sharpie was wielded by Will in Central Massachusetts.

Will sent me several apples from his home orchard. I even managed to identify one of them (though I think Will still has some doubts).

C2 is Will's designation for a tree of his that has received multiple grafts, each bearing something different. Leader is just Will's way of identifying the branch coresponding to the graft.

It is a round and oblate apple, medium sized, with a streaky red blush decorated in places with light lenticel dots.

There is a little bit of ribbing, and the calyx is open. There is even a slight bit of a bloom dusting the surface.

How it eats

I believe I have let this one sit for too long, and the flesh, while crisp, has a little give to it.

That flesh is white and fine-grained, with some vinous flavors that mark it as a member of the McIntosh family, and one of the better ones.

It might well be Mac himself, with berries, wine, and spice notes, and even a little floral quality like a Macoun.

I don't mean that it is a Macoun. Another candidate, given the locale, could be Davey, a local variety that is very good. (My Davey had a more-saturated blush, however.)

The Mac clan is vast, and this could be any number of varieties and sports that I have not tried. But it is very like a true McIntosh, and that could be the answer.

To put it differently: I do not claim to identify this apple, but I can tell you what it is most like in my experience. A Mac, or maybe a Macoun.

PS: John Chapman never said that.