Cantillon Crianza Helena

Formerly brewed at Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Gueuze
Brussels, Belgium

Bottled. Golden coloured. Unclear. Dense off white head. Aroma of grape, sourness, barnyard, wood, earth, some sweetness and light fruits. Flavour is as complex and balanced as the aroma. Loads of brett, barnyard, earth sourness and wood. Full bodied. Dry sour fruityness in the end. FAntasticly refreshing. Thx. yespr for this.

375ml bottle at De Heeren Van Liedekercke. Beautiful looking stuff. The pour yields a glowing, slightly hazy, medium-golden hued body. A thin, fizzy, taupe colored film settles in to a thin ring around the edge. Each sip is trailed by a sudsy wash on the glass that mostly rejoins the body below. The aroma is just insanely complex, showing a baseline of soured apricot and nectarine, with a nod to citrus as well. The Cantillon horseblanket funk is in its infancy, though you can tell it will come into its own with time. Old, cognac-kissed oak imparts a grapey, musky overtone that fits right in. I could wear this stuff as cologne, it smells so good. Flavors are right in line, persistently sour and fruity up front, again centered on nectarine and apricot, along with trace notes of peach. The oaking is subtle, bringing in background grape notes and just a touch of woody vanilla. Wild, yeasty funk is there, but is certainly early in the maturation process. Lively, sparkling carbonation serves its purpose, effortlessly delivering dry, puckering sourness to every corner of the mouth. There’s just a hair of residual sweetness that I’m sure will wash away with time. Fantastic creation. This will be ridiculously good in a year or two.

Huge thanks to Jack for sharing this. Poured a crystal clear hay color with a nice fluffy white head. Aroma was hay, floral hops, citrus, barnyard and leather. Very bright and inviting on the nose. Taste was more bright citrus notes, some barnyard funk, lemon, oak and some vinous notes. I loved this. I could drink a lot of it if it wasn’t really rare. Thanks again Jack.

Bottle shared at a tasting. Hazy golden-orange color. Acidic aroma of vinegar, barnyard, leathery notes, cobwebs and a bit of lemon. Sour flavor with citric notes, earth, oak, vanilla hints, green apples and some more fruit. Medium-bodied with a smooth mouthfeel.

At a tasting, many thanks DSG, smallish head, hazy light orange, aromas of dijon mustard, vinegar and vanila which might be from the barrels, flavours of sour apple, vinegar, black pepper and mustard seeds with hints of vanila and oakiness resembling Rioja wine barrels, short aftertaste. Subdued and extremely mellow.

My Bottom Line:
This intense lambic experience is to be expected from Cantillon, ploughing citrusy sourness and powerful funk deep into your tongue, flavors which can be felt long after the actual liquid has disappeared into your oesophagus.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-There is no head whatsoever atop the cloudy dark golden.
-The sugar-like barrel notes are present in the aroma, but the intrinsic Cantillon character is so powerful, it completely dominates the barrels’ apport in the flavor profile. You’ll understand that this perceived sweetness in the nose is a no-show in the flavor profile.
-Carbonation is very low, making the fruitiness appear even juicier.
-The fruitiness is akin to pineapple at times.
-This is not too complex for Cantillon, or at least not as much as their regular Gueuze, which I prefer greatly.

Bottle.

@ a tasting, thanks DSG, pours pale orange with a nice white head, aroma of olive, horse skin, fresh leaves and vinous acidity, flavors of hay, lemon, grapes and some wood, dry and zesty, full-bodied. Great

Bottle: funk, sweat, hay, acidic tartness with some citic bitterness, wood, grappa, weak grape sweetness, weak vinous notes, quinine, very good lambic.