Bottle @Ma che siete venuti a fa' (Rome). Dorata, appena velata, schiuma bianca media. Al naso splendide note vinose, di uva bianca, legno, Porto, stalla, cantina. In bocca è vinosa, bilanciata con una leggera dolcezza di uva matura, note di Porto, acidità medio-bassa, molto raffinata. Corpo medio, carbonazione media. Spettacolare.

1991 bottle that I got in a trade. Rated in May 2017. Cap was rusted, cork completely dissolved. Decanted it. Color was a deep orange-bronze and very clear except the part that was left in the bottle, which was gross looking. Very oxidized, musty aroma, old books, lemon, wet wood with a bit of rot in it, leather, peaches. Body was very oily, flat, silky smooth, full. Favor less musty than the nose, some honey, lemon, leather, old books, wood, cork. This definitely was past it prime, and I suppose I should have opened it when I first got it, but still it has help up remarkably well for a 26 year old gueuze. I look forward to trying the new one in 2019.

Sour, dry, full, woody. Quite vinous, funky, a bit herbal. Complex and yummy, excellent.

Cloudy light amber, Beautiful tart, cobwebs, farmhouse, big oak and cognac character. Tart as hell. Super amazing depth. Perfect BA lambic

750mL bottle, 1990-1991 bottling (original batch), shared by JTClockwork back in 2016. Thanks, James!
Dark copper-gold with a small, off-white head atop showing low retention.
Nose is soft, succulent almost, with piquant lactic acidity on the finish and some definite fruit and tannin from the port/wood. Gains more complexity with breathing, of course, yielding vanilla, cherry and various barnyard characteristics.
Supple, soft, tightly carbonated and in excellent shape for its 25 year age. Lightly caramelized fig dances throughout moderate lactic acidity with deep B. lambicus-like cherry pie and port-like vanilla. Supple as all hell with plentiful funk on the finish. Excellent, hope to try the new batches some day.

750mL bottle, 1990-1991 bottling (original batch), shared by JTClockwork back in 2016. Thanks, James!
Dark copper-gold with a small, off-white head atop showing low retention.
Nose is soft, succulent almost, with piquant lactic acidity on the finish and some definite fruit and tannin from the port/wood. Gains more complexity with breathing, of course, yielding vanilla, cherry and various barnyard characteristics.
Supple, soft, tightly carbonated and in excellent shape for its 25 year age. Lightly caramelized fig dances throughout moderate lactic acidity with deep B. lambicus-like cherry pie and port-like vanilla. Supple as all hell with plentiful funk on the finish. Excellent, hope to try the new batches some day.

Sour, rustic and woody.

Back in 1991, Cantillon created a geuze finished in tawny port barrels for a special occasion, namely the celebrations surrounding the then-king of Belgium, Baudouin I, who at the time had been reigning the country for exactly forty years, celebrated his sixtieth birthday and had been married to queen Fabiola for thirty years. Brabantiae was born, on the demand of the province of Brabant (which as such does not even exist anymore today - but that is another story). Twenty-five years later, the concept was repeated and in 2018, after two years of ageing, we got this new Brabantiae, of which I only sampled the unrefermented version during Cantillon's Quintessence event of that year - so I had the 'finished' version on my bucketlist for years, until I got a chance to buy this vintage specimen, bottled in February 2019, one of only four batches made during that period. Thickly moussey, egg-white, audibly crackling, fluffy and frothy head, slowly thinning but for a long time remaining closed over an initially absolutely crystal clear, warm and deep 'old golden' robe with 'metallic' pale orange glow and a steady column of champagne-like sparkling in the middle, sustaining the head; shifts to a slightly deeper orange and light mistiness further on. Aroma of preserved lemons, old dried orange peel, lots of wood, dusty wooden attic, old dry leather, unripe mandarin, old herbarium, unripe nectarine, dried green apple slices, champagne and very dry Sauvignon blanc wine, old Parmigiano cheese, vague echoes of damp cellar and pickled gherkins and, extremely volatile and faint but popping up every now and then, a sweetish whiff which could come from the port (or not). Crisp, lively onset, tart but in a supple, 'malse' way yet still lemony enough to keep things bright and vivid, green apple, light rhubarb, unripe nectarine (though less astringent), gooseberry and a touch of lemon, with a faint umami accent (Parmigiano) right behind it; lively carbonation, but far less sparkly than e.g. sparkling wine (or even the average, younger geuze). An elegant minerality stretches out underneath a smooth, bread-crusty and cereally core, dried by lactic tartness which nevertheless remains very fruity (green apple again), as well as this lemony accent highlighting everything without becoming too acidic. More vinosity engulfs the finishing stages, with sour grape and (old) dry white wine effects, even something briefly sweetish from the port - but only very, very subtly so, and I probably could not have picked it out if I had not known that this blend spent time in port barrels (which, importantly, were completely emptied before use so it is basically the wood giving the remaining port flavours back to the lambic). Mouthfeel remains vinous, smooth and full, while woody tannins add noble dryness and dry-leathery Brett effects rise up retronasally in a most 'aristocratic', distinguished and well-measured way; old hops provide a supporting background bitterness in the tail, lingering a bit yet remaining in perfect balance with the other flavours. The Parmigiano accent returns in the finish too, along with a slight sign of oxidation (retronasally again). I am not sure in what circumstances this bottle was kept in the past five years - or four and a half, I bought it in spring time - but there is some damp cellar in here, however subtle. No problem though, because at five years in the bottle, this Brabantiae has remained a masterpiece of Cantillon's present house style: vinous, refined and perfected in its tiniest details, noble and sophisticated. This is geuze at its most enchanting, with every sip revealing something new and yet firmly remaining stable and focused. One does not open a vintage Cantillon every day so I knew this was going to be a treat - this is the 'aristocratic' class of geuze indeed, a worthy tribute to Jean Van Roy's father's own tribute to king Baudouin - or the duchy of Brabant... Glad I can finally tick this one off my list!

From tap shared at Arrogant Sour Fest, Reggio Emilia. yellow murky color, small white head. smells wood, oak, herbal, nutty. Very nice smell. full body, soft carbonation. tastes herbal, wood, oak, nutty, curry. finishes lightly dry and lightly sour with notes of curry, herbal and wood notes. Very nice one

8, 8.5, 8.5, 8, 8.5