8.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8

One of three new geuzes blended specifically for the tenth anniversary of the 'reopening' of Villa Servais as a B&B; the villa as such dates from the mid-19th-century and was inhabited by (then) famed Belgian cellist Adrien-François Servais, hence the name. The couple operating the villa as a B&B (and tearoom) today already had a geuze produced for them by Boon five years ago, but this one is a different blend, containing lambics from much older casks (said to generate less sharp tannins), in different proportions of age. It was bottled in February 2024, considerably earlier than the two others in this miniseries, and actually intended to be opened only in June, because that is when the restorations of the villa will be ten years ago - so sorry Geert, but I could not wait any longer, curiosity got the better of me... Cork under very high pressure, rising from the bottle neck right after removal of the muselet, but no gushing. Rather thick and firm, egg-white, regular, densely moussey, well-retaining head initially supported by a column of champagne-like sparkling rushing through a warm deep golden robe with 'old golden' tinge, clear at first, turning misty and a bit ochre-tinged further on. Powerful aroma of freshly cut green apple, fresh wood sorrel leaf, unripe plum, old blankets, dusty attic, jute bags, dry old wood, a whiff of crémant extra brut, unripe lime, young birch leaves in spring, minerals, wet old leather. Spritzy onset, sharp cava-like effervescence bringing a wave of crystalline minerality, almost disrupting the flavours of green apple, unripe hard pear, lime and green plum, very dry, tart but nowhere sharply sour - rather 'mals' in fact, despite the high degree of effervescence accentuating sourness. Supple body, a smooth breadiness under this ongoing dry-green fruitiness, a glimpse of unripe apricot passing by, further dried by a deep but lively lactic acidity; a huge amount of minerality lingers at the back - even for a geuze - bringing an impression of sparkling spring water through lingering green unripe fruits, smooth breadiness and indeed soft woodiness, laced with these rustic Brettanomyces effects: old leather, old blanket, old attic. A deep old hop bitter note lurks below, clutching to the tongue's root, but it is this sparkly minerality and all-round smooth dryness that sets this apart - not just from its two contemporaries in this series, but also from the first Villa Servais geuze blended by Boon, which was indeed significantly more mellow in the wood department. Here the ancient barrels, in contrast with the relatively young barrels from the first Villa Servais, fill the bottle with the nobility and temperance of old age, perhaps contrasting with the temperament of stormy carbonation. Different from the original indeed - and a somewhat distinct one in general, even if it has Boon's house style written all over it.