2007 vintage, capped and corked in the 750 mL bottle. Label slightly different than the BA db picture AND the label lists this at a 5% beer. Aged in Oak Barrels and has the Merlot grape addition.
$29.95 from Green’s, Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Look, I’ve been to the Brussels brewery twice, travelled extensively in Northern France and Belgium so I know what I’m talking about, but I have to say the beauty and subtlety of Cantillon and the harsh Lambics still at least partially evades me. That’s after years and years of sampling them far and wide. I dunno, I guess it’s just not a taste that I am gonna “get”. It’s strange becasue I generally really enjoy off the wall, strong flavors and odd foods but time and again these beers fail to satisfy me. At $30 a bottle, this is getting to be an expensive way to find out!
Fizzy initially on the pour, the beer soon settles to give a still, light burgandy body with a touch of froth around the collar. The nose is wine-like; a light Australian red comes to mind.
The acidity is significantly less than some of the other (even harsher) Cantillon products, nor is this as dry. I was surprised by that since I though the oak might play a bigger part in drying the palate out. Light fruit flavors are there, but the tanin and the skins seems to dominante for me. Mild funk too, but as usual it’s the sour nature that overwhelms so much of Cantillon. This was much more drinkable than many other Cantillon products so maybe I am coming around a bit, but if so this is a LONG journey!
I dunno, after nearly 30 years of drinking high quality beer and tasting many of these Lambics and sours along the way, I’m about to call it a day. Maybe I’ll be back in the future but value for money is also going to play a part in what I will invest in in the future.