Cantillon Vigneronne

Brewed by Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

07.29.05 750ml bottle. I don’t know if this was a bad bottle; I just can’t tell sometimes when I’m trying a new Cantillon. The pour is murky gold with a crazed foam fading quick but leaving a sticky lace. Aroma is an almost overwhelming blast of sour milk, sulfur, wet leather, horrible cheese. Above all that is a positively out of place and grossly overdone blanket of bad chablis drenched in butter. Luckily most of the buttery assault seems to get left at the door. Flavor is mild enough, sweetish for a Cantillon, fruity, not maddeningly sour as it’s toned down by the fruit. There’s plenty of funk and cheese, some leather, grapeskin astringency. The smell of this stuff was just too much for me to handle.

(Bottle 75 cl) Beautiful, hazy orangey golden with a surprising head which collapses rather fast though. Also a surprising fizzyness. Typical refined gueuze flavours without many traces of the Moscatel-grapes. Oh, did I forget to mention, that this is very dry and extremely sour? Well, it’s a Cantillon goddammit... 270601

Under the name of Cuvée des 9 Nations, a 1991 bottle that Joris gave to Martin who generously shared. Huge pop upon opening, pale amber with deepened orange reflects. Initially well laced off-white head that quickly turns into a film. Plenty of sediments all around. Funky basement, dusty nose with the firm impression that nothing dominates the balance. Funky hay notes, cheesy lactic nature, fingertoes, orange, pears, grapes, brett.. Yummy. The white grapes come out with more stealth in mouth, they are everywhere and integrated like old mates, certainly resistant to time this one. Medium rounded body with well kept carbonation, puckeringly dry and tart though not astringent. Surprisingly thick at this stage of aging. Lactic lemon and lactic acids. Excellent.

375mL bottle, cork dated 1999. Golden/yellow color with just the slightest haze. Small white head and not much lacing. The aroma is of course, funky and sour with some peppery notes. Can’t really distinguish the Muscat grapes but there is a winey/fruity character. The sourness is acetic but there is also some brettanomyces, probably some others blending in as well. There is some sweetness to balance. Great beer!

Bottled. Hazy orange coloured with a small head. Acidic aroma with notes of fruits and wood. Acidic flavour of wood with notes of fruits.

Embouteillé en 2004. Couleur jaune paille foncée, apparence pleinement opaque. De grosses bulles remontent à la surface du verre, aucune formation de mousse. Arôme similaire à celle de leur gueuze, modérément sauvage, mais davantage parfumé. Une autre composante en arôme n’est pas sans rappeler une feuille verte broyée d’un plant de moutarde des champs. Première gorgée semble sucrée, probablement due au sucre du raisin encore présent dans cette jeune bouteille, mais cette impression se dissipe rapidement pour laisser place à l’acide lactique, citronnée et à cette qualité tartrique grandissant rapidement. Corps d’épaisseur semi mince, fine carbonatation, finale sèche et de plus en plus tartrique. Tout à fait authentique! Bouteille, Charles Liquor, Boston, Juin 2005.

Tan cloudy amber with ring on top . Organic ,sour , village aroma, green and dry as it warms up sweeter fruit nose is more shown . Very dry , citric with rather plain shallow finish . Slighly harsh creation .

Bottle. 2003 Vintage. Straw-amber beer with a thin white head. Sweet fruit and sour aroma. Very sour flavor with a white wine tang. Dry sour finish with a touch of sweetness. Flavor of dry white grapes.