Unusual collab of a french brewery in the Hautes-Savoie region, primarily producing spontaneously fermented beers but also things like vinegar, and good old Blaugies, one of the core saison brewers in Belgium: apparently this Marmontoise - its name no doubt inspired by Vermontoise, a collab of Blaugies with Hill Farmstead - is a blend of Marmo's own 'lambic' with Blaugies iconic Saison d'Epeautre (a spelt beer from before it was trendy). Strong gusher initially but not right away: two seconds after lifting the crown cap, the bottle began to spout with a mean hissing sound - I was completely taken by surprise and could not avoid minimal loss. Be prepared when opening this one. Settling into a medium thick, egg-white, tiny-bubbled, almost creamy, very slowly receding and eventually dissolving head on a yellow-golden robe with very vaguely olive-greenish tinge. Aroma of top-fermented saison much more than anything lambic-like: pear, freshly baked white bread, halfripe banana, coriander seed, young birch leaves in spring, unripe nectarine, sweetclover, touch buttermilk, Greek yoghurt or sour cream, considerable 'Bretty' funkiness in a somewhat cheesy way, hogweed leaf, vanilla from oak wood, dried mushrooms faraway in the background, hints of yellow plum, old dried lemongrass, dust, gravel, spoilt cucumber. Fruity onset, at first somewhat sweetish (apricot, pear) but quickly becoming a bit more tart, tilting towards plum, nectarine and cucumber, all relatively restrained though, with carbonation remaining on the 'flat' side and in that sense a bit 'handicapped' as it were, unable to underscore the fruity flavours or bring liveliness to something undoubtedly intended as lively. Fairly 'flat' and slender mouthfeel - in relation to ABV - as a result, with a white-bready and cereally pale malt core gliding over the tongue, depositing very softly spicy traces of coriander seed, lemongrass and chamomile, the latter two probably coming from hops. Meanwhile, Champs Marmo's own contribution, a lambic-like beer, provides a persistent yet fairly mellow lactic acidity, yoghurty and soured-milk-like, as well as a distant woody accent; these elements, together with the hops which shine through a bit more brightly than I was expecting - in a floral way - but only at the back, provide dryness to a finish less than the effects of the wild yeast eventually do. Smooth drinker - to the more experienced beer taster at least - with a rather 'Belgian' profile, more layered and complex than it seems at a first sip and in that sense 'creeping up' on you, as it were... I had lots of these blonde 'bières de coupage' meanwhile (from the almost archetypical Cuvée de Ranke and Vicardin over Lindemans Goyck or En Stoemelings 1897 to Wilde Terf, and so on, and so forth) and I usually like them, for incorporating a layer of refreshing sourness and earthy, woody and funky complexity to an otherwise often more straightforward fruity blonde; this one fits neatly into that series, but lacks perhaps just a bit of 'oomph' on all levels - including carbonation - to fully stand out the way it could have. Initially perhaps a tad underwhelming for something with the honorable name Blaugies attached to it (especially with all that gushing), but nevertheless a pleasant one on a hot pre-summer evening, unveiling its delicate features quite slowly and silently, but surely; also an interesting encounter with this Champs Marmo project, which I never heard of till now. I do wonder how this would evolve with some extended cellaring, too, especially in view of that Brett effect...

750ml bottle. Cloudy, orange, golden colour with small to average, frothy, moderately lasting, minimally lacing, white head. Sweet-ish malty, mildly bretty, funky, yeasty spicy aroma, notes of Hubba Bubba bubblegum, some brine, a touch of mustard seed, bitter orange, whiffs of vinegar. Taste is mildly tart, mildly bretty, funky, mildly bitter hoppy, sweet-ish, almost a tad biscuity, pale malty basis, hints of orange, yellow stone fruit, mild funk, some quince, mandarine.
Oily-watery texture, smooth and soft palate, medium to fine, dense, mildly prickly carbonation.
Mild, balanced and harmonious, lots of subtleties - very good.

Slow gushing to white rim over bright, cold hazed golden beer. Sourish, wild yeast/Brettanomyces, rhubarb, sorrel, soured milk. About the same orally, maybe a bit soft-sweeter. Bit of salicylic acid. Half-dried leaves. Light acidthinning, quite slick, medium carbonation (!). Not half bad! I wish we'ld hear again more from de Blaugies. And from Champs Marmo, of course. Txs to Stef!