Cantillon Vigneronne

Vintage 2002. Springy apricot orange hue. Dank basement cheese and sweaty sock aroma. Hard water. Ancient balsamic vinegar. Brown sugar, white grapes, pears providing a rounding sweetness that puckers tart. A surprising habanero-like grassy heat singes in the back, brought back with complementing touch of flowery tea that has some of the same, green earthiness, pleasingly cooled.

A blistering white grape tart flavor. Familiar and compelling lemon juice acidity; fruit always forward and funk reserved, though the leathery, somewhat quiet tannins seem to aptly fill the gap. Strikingly sophisticated touch. Cheese and mineral dryness in the middle, with an evasive, dusty sweetness scampering about; suggests white chocolate powdered with spice, strangely, and the vibrancy of wheat. The sourness of the grapes seems to have only grown more pungent and sharp after six years, but the layers of flavor beneath have a settled complexity about them that’s really rich and intriguing. A meaty blend of spices gathers force and really underscores that depth as the beer warms; dusty and dry, woodsy and rich; paprika, ginger and cayenne. Pleasingly startling, and the funk intensifies freakishly.

Palate is firm and spritzy; a concentrated, tangy acidity. Finish takes a while to dry out, first showing a bursting pineapple tartness, then a grainy white cheesiness, and finally a hard water and yeast minerality that’s pretty viciously rough and abrasive. But that furious dryness is what I love about a lambic finish. Begins as a juicy, delicate and fruity foray into the softer tones of wild yeasts, but ends with a pretty devastating whirlwind of funkiness.

2002 bottle tasted 2008. Nice beer. Aroma previews the sourness with a distinct lemony grassiness, plus a very pleasing jasmine flower aroma. Really nice. Flavor begins with a hard acidity, but once you adapt it smooths out to a nice tartness plus a sweet white wine vinousness. Perhaps just a trace of leathery funk in the background, along with a floral note in the finish. Hazy golden, virtually no head, light carbonation.

Bottle at the Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation: Pours a nice bright gold with frothy head that lasts less than 1 second. Classic, but light, cantillon lambic aroma. Sweaty vinous barnyard. Flavor wise it is nice and smooth. A little less aggressive than some of Cantillon’s delectable offerings. There is an acid bite that leads you into a white wine like character with some citrus fruits. I may not have picked up a white grape or wine character if I didn’t know it was in the beer. Great dry finish.

2002. Dark orange. Sour aroma with grape skin. Some more grape in the flavor but it is overwhelmed by considerable sourness. Even at 6 years old, this is a very sour beer. Cloudy orange appearance, it looks like any quality gueuze. Like other Cantillon products, this is very sour. Excellent.

2002 Vintage. Dark orange color with a thin head. Aroma of honey, grapes and a very little bit of lactic acid. Moderate sourness. Lots of wheat and acidic grapes. Lightly tart.

Re-rate 2005 bottle in July 2009 (no big changes though, and same rating): Cloudy orange with no head. Aroma has wood, leather, barnyard and a little grass, the classic Cantillon, but slightly subdued - a little white grapes can be noticed in the background. Even more subdued is the flavour. If there was ever such a thing as a smooth tartness, this is it. There is a nice white wine sweetness making it extremely refreshing. One of the easiest drinking Cantillons, but with all the qualities you can expect.

Cloudy yellow coloured lambic. A round sour nose. Some grapefruit in the taste. Not much flavor of muscat grapes. Anyway a very good lambic.

(Bottle, Akkurat, Stockholm, 23 May 2008) Pale orange colour with brief, bubbly, white head. Tart, fruity nose with notes of barnyard and old socks. Tart, fruity taste with hints of grapes. Dry! Perfectly balanced tartness, not very harsh, making it seductively enjoyable. Very nice beer.