Cantillon Rosé De Gambrinus

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

750 ml bottle, cellar-aged for 1 year, obtained at the brewery in Brussels in fall of 2004. Intriguing aroma of hay, straw, leaves and faint raspberry, plentiful tartness alongside lemony citrus and notes of fresh wood. Hazy, rusty orange-amber color, yielding a fine, slight but ever-present head and a light coat of lace. Fruity and citric flavor to start, turning a little towards the sweet side and seeing subtle yet insistent hints of raspberry emerge alongside suggestions of old, dry leaves and sharp, citric acidity. Intensely and wonderfully sour palate with a light, refreshing body and fine effervescence. Highly enjoyable and a true artisanal fruit lambic.

A dry, elegant fruit beer. This is made from 25-75% cherries and raspberries and a dash of vanilla. This has a great balance of tartness and fruitiness.

Vintage 1995, 2007-11-01, 12 years old, courtesy of Jacob (Hildogöltur), 8-4-8-4-16=40
Cloudy light amber color with orange shades. Pungent aroma, cellar mold and raspberries, very strong. Aggressive mouthfeel, dry, astringent, citrusy, with the raspberries first, and the cellar character then.

Bottled in 2007, 2007-05-08, fresh, 8-4-8-4-16=40
Beautiful red color, pink head. Strong cellar aroma, magnesia, maybe some fruits. Sour flavor, wood cask touch, very sour, with some notes of grapefruit as well. Tannins and some astringency in the end.

Bottled in 2000, 2004-02-24, 5 years old, 7-4-7-4-13=35
Beautiful light amber color. The aroma is really sour, not enough fruity; it shows mostly the wood cask, and later some magnesia. Absolutely sour (almost like lemon squash), some tannins. A true one; quite good, very aggressive, not really fruity.

2004 "vintage". Beautiful burnt orange tones, and the aroma reminded of tinned orange juice - with a bit of raspberry. The tart acidity predominated, so it must not have been young. So when does a lambic lose the fruit dominance? This went well over three days using a champagne stopper. Excellent for a before dinner drink. Not recommended to accompany desert.

Bottle. Light amber w/soda bubbles. Sour, thick mouthfeel featuring peaches and nectarines in the flavor. Still a bit too much for me but a good lambic nonetheless.

375 ml corked and capped green bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 5%. Clear red colour, big pink head. Intense aroma of ripe and sour raspberries. The flavour is very sour and tart, again with notes of sour raspberries. Good stuff, but requires that you like fruit lambics in the first place.

The aroma is a blend of big massive lambic brettamyce characters, notaly old cheese, lactic and wood resins. In terms of raspberries, only a faint suggestion can be perceived in the aroma. The colour is like a blush wine and has a long lasting lace, especially for a Cantillon product. The flavour is rightfully rife with lambic character, with wood resins taking the charge, in perfect symphony with the lactic counterparts of the profile. Old cheese, wood and some horse blanket elements come through as well. This is an incredibly refreshing and dry product. The only raspberry contribution is in mouthfeel, as the slight added tartness (if that is possible) rounds the beer off a little.

Hazy orange-pink colour. Rich aroma of sour fruit, barnyard, wood and a bit of cheese. Dry, quenching body. Complex flavour of sour raspberry, citrus, dry wine and SweetTarts candy. Finish is long, dry and puckeringly tart. Damn good!