From old tasting notes. Vintage 1986. Clear amber orange color. Effervescent bubbly short-lived yellowish head. Interesting toasted malt nose hints at molasses. Wow! Right away is intense and powerful. So much that it makes your belly warm and your nose tingle. Rich toasted malt flavor is intensely bittersweet and brandy-like. Long bittersweet finish and aftertaste.

Huge thanks to Kraddel for bringing me one of my biggest wants! 250 ml. bottle split between several people. 1997 Vintage (last vintage)! Bottle actually mentiones The Guinness Book of Records! There are bound to be 2 different reactions about tasting a beer like this one, those who have haven’t had many beers of this age will proclaim it unique, those who are in familiar territory will in very family territory. Once full oxidation hits, differences between dark & strong beers like this become quite small in my experience. Dark amber brown with logically no head. Nose is full-on oxidation, near vinous, massive oxidized malts, sugar, bitter bark, sherry leaves, near ditch-water. Nose is usually the lesser side of vintage brews. Taste is massive leaves, porto sherry, bitter herbs, oxidation has taken all over, barely any carbonation, near watery, heavy sherry, thick oily, oxidation is all-around but it is actually still quite fun, needed to change my perspective a bit but it has nice sherry & leaves finish. Long far gone but still pretty neat. Interesting brew, possibly mind-blowing if you are new to beers this old. For what it is worth, I actually rated this higher than the current version. www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000100.html

Olive bottle, 25 cl, 1996 vintage, best before 11.09.99, savoured on May 1st 2015; eye: black, opaque, no effervescence, no head, no lacing; nose: caramel, malt, molasses, light Madeira; mouth: caramel, malt, molasses, light Madeira, finale in malt with presence of molasses, medium body, below-average carbonation, mildly sweet, silky texture; overall: nice example of a beer to age FRANÇAIS Bouteille olive, 25 cl, millésime 1996, meilleure avant 11.09.99, savourée le 1er mai 2015; œil : noire, opaque, pas d’effervescence, pas de mousse, pas de dentelle; nez : caramel, malt, mélasse, léger madère; bouche : caramel, malt, mélasse, léger madère, finale en malt avec présence de mélasse, corps moyen, carbonatation sous la moyenne, moyennement sucrée, texture soyeuse; en résumé : bel exemple de bière à faire vieillir

Bottle (1996 vintage): I had tried this one before I was taking notes but glad I was able to try it again although almost 20 years later. Poured a clear dark brown color bock with a small foamy head with no retention or lacing. Aroma of Xeres, caramelized malt with light toffee notes is very interesting. Taste is also dominated by Xeres and port with some caramelized malt notes with light subtle toffee notes and balanced level of residual sugar. Oxidation notes are not overly noticeable. Body is about average with not much carbonation remaining. Glad I had the opportunity to try this one and wish I would have stash a couple of those in my cellar back in the days.