Bottle at Cantillon during Open Brewery Day. So happy to finally try this person white whale! Clear dark golden with a white head. Aroma shows of the Vin Juane beautifully with wonderful oxidized cherry notes, toffee and oak along with a lovely dry funk, cobwebs and vinous notes. Flavour is light moderate sweet and sour, much more sweetness than I'd expect in a geuze, but balancing perfectly in this one. Medium bodied with soft carbonation. Stunning and absolutely worth the wait!

2016 bottle drunk 10/8/16.
Rusty golden with a good clarity and large, off-white head showing good retention for the style.
Oh wow. I’ve had a lot of grape lambics and nothing even remotely like this. Obviously the grapes having been transformed in to a marvelous wine has a lot to do with that but wow, this is really something else. Just the most buoyant nose of kumquat, passion fruit and gooseberry mixing with wet hay-like funk and light black pepper. The oxidation from the wine is even here, creating further complexity with the light madeirasation. None of this masks the lambic, however, which is funky, bright and full of farmy goodness; light sulfur, hay and such. No alcohol or flaw. Completely wraps itself about the nose and I suspect this is one of those bottles which will sit empty for a year and still smell good.
Gooseberry again, is prominent in the flavor, with light tannin from the oak and typical malt/wheat softness combining with the ultra-fine carbonation to provide a very soft texture. The fruity wine character persists and is joined by a spicy, sandalwood-like note and also more light sherry/madeira suggestions that add a completely different element. You’ve got the fruitiness from the wine providing light sweetness, tartness and all sorts of interesting gooseberry/kumquat/passion fruit notes, yet also adding the oxidative element that surprisingly works so well in lambics (just look at the numbers on Zenne y Frontera). Then of course you have the lambic which is nicely sour, adding plentiful lactic and brett acids, light cheese/citrus rind and lingering mouth-puckering acidity. Really, really awesome beer and I can’t wait to both try it again (hopefully) and even more importantly, try some of Mr. Tissot’s wines.
Was on the fence between 4.8, 4.9 and 5.0, and it doesn’t really matter, but Fu*k it, I’m just giving it a 5.0. Cantillon needs more hype anyways.

Bottle (need label)- Grana Padano share. Pours gold white head - nose/taste of white grape, funk, sweet white wine, banana taffy (in nose only), oak, grapefruit rind. Touch of caramel sweetness in taste - medium body

01-05-18 // taster at Cantillon Quintessence 2018. 4.0 . . 05-05-16 // sample at Cantillon Quintessence 2015. Orange colour. Fruity sourness. Grapes. Dry wine notes. Well balanced. 4.1

Clear yellow golden colour, white head. Aroma of dessert wine, vin jaune, light spicy, quite fruity, grapes. Light sour flavour, sweet white grapes, golden raisins, some honey notes. Finish straw wine, sweet grapes, dessert wine, spices, turmeric, sherry, walnut. Nice!!
(from 75cL bottle @ Cantillon Quintessence 2016)

Poured from a bottle at Cantillon. Aroma is similar to a finely aged Sauternes. Some honey notes with a medium light white grape note. Medium light oak notes. Light barnyard and herbal notes. Hints of red apple. Some almond and vanilla character from the barrel. Some light caramel and butterscotch as well. Poured from a bottle at Cantillon. Pours a slightly hazy, gold color with a thin, white head that lingers for a bit.  Flavor is interesting with a light bitterness. Medium oak notes. Medium light honey notes. Medium, soft acidity. Some moderate white wine character. Light barnyard finish with a bit of hay. A bit less barrel character in the aroma. A touch of spiced apple cider. Light caramel as well. Mouthfeel is medium.bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall, another great lambic from Cantillon. The aroma is simply amazing and reminds me so much of a really nice dessert wine but with a touch of that classic lambic character. The flavor has a bit less of the dessert wine character and a bit more lambic notes. Great, balanced, soft acidity. Nice grape notes and balanced barnyard character.