Cantillon Iris

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Unblended
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Flute, Tumbler

Capped and corked 0.375 l bottle my neighbor Zrinka brought from Brussels, thanks! 2006 vintage. Finally got my hands to an unblended lambic. It poured murky amber/orange body with medium sized head. Nice vinous aroma, seems so simple, but shows slight fruitness like citrus fruits and peaches. Sour flavor for sure, relatively complex with yeast being prominent, some fruitness again - peaches, white grapes. Also you can feel notes of oak barrels. Full body with for lambics usual, full carbonation accents fine acidity in the finish and makes it long. At the very end becomes rounded with malts and/or yeast. I pretty like it, but although I respect its complexity and quality, it’s a bit too wild for my taste and I had better lambics.

Capped and corked 750 mL bottle shared by Alraomon with myself and cdumler, who still doesn’t appreciate sour beers. Alas. 2005 vintage. Rust on the the cap. Pours a hazy bronze color with a large head. Good head retention and lacing. Very funky aroma of cheese, barnyard, pear and pepper. Veyr dry. The taste is also very dry and tart with notes of green olive, grape, grapefruit and funk. Spritzy, soft carbonation, syrupy mouthfeel, full bodied.

UPDATED: MAY 15, 2009 2004 bottle. Mmmmm....feet and lemon juice. Hazy blond. Lemon rind in the distance, not up front. Past it’s prime, the store I bought it from had it out of refrigeration, just sat it on a shelf. Still good. but not the monumental experience I first had with a 2004 bottle a year ago.

750 ml corked and capped green bottle 2002 bottling poured a clear copper with a small lasting amber head. Aromas of sour citrus, straw, barnyard and light leather. Palate was light bodied, crisp and tart with a dry finish. Flavors of grapefruit, lemon, straw, leather and light barnyard with a crisp dry lingering tart finish.

Thanks ucusty for sharing. 2004 bottle. Pours a cloudy amber with a creamy off white head. The nose is tart and vinous, has a definitive grapey character, yeasty, barnyard aromas. The flavor is tart and dry, nice acidic sourness, oaky, yeasty, mild bitterness. Flavor is dry and tart.

Bottle shared at the Carolina Crew tasting by ucusty - thanks, David! Now this is my motherfucking kind of beer. Funk is its own reward. Big lustrous pour, a beer just waiting to be poured into a glass. Buoyant carbonation and a lovely aroma with wood, tartness, and flowers in abundance. Beautiful flavor, mellow but without sacrificing complexity, fruity but not at the expense of the wood or the tartness. Complex and drinkable at once, this is superb.

2006 vintage. Apricots, star fruit, grassy, very vinous, peaches, kumquats, apple skins, funky, with hints of vanilla in the nose. Pours slightly cloudy, a light amber gold with a thin white head. Funky chardonnay grapes, light citrus, kumquats, star fruit, funky tartness, very horsey, a nice fruitiness, there are hints of oak, but mosty tart fruits hints of grapefruit, and lemon peel. Very refreshing with a great dryness.

2005 bottle, aged over 3 years. Initially only lightly hazy, each careful pour of the 750ml bottle results in a slightly cloudier, orange-amber colored body. A small, foamy white head settles to a thin but lasting film, a soapy wash leaving scant lacing spots on the glass. The aroma is beautiful, showing deep and complex notes of dried apricots, Chardonnay grapes, fresh peaches, and tart citric acids. Heaps of fresh oak impart sour wood and vanilla components, while a surprisingly ample **for a lambic** dose of dusty, floral hops adds a lightly bitter kick. Of course, it would not be a Cantillon without some farmhouse funk on the nose, though it is not exceptionally prominent in this gem of a brew. Flavors are softly oaky and vanilla laden up front, transitioning quickly to tart and fruity, before finishing vinous and tannic. Apricots and white grapes are abounds within. Dry and parching on the palate, with a lightly tingly effervescence, there is a good deal of body to this one, perhaps a result of the wheat component. This one feels like a bigger beer than it is, which is an interesting departure from the typically light and refreshing Cantillon palate. Overall, this is a phenomenal brew, right up there with Cuvée des Champions, Saint Lamvinus, and Blåbær Lambik as the best that I have sampled from this incredible brewery to date.