9

I think I loved this more than batch 5/6. Heavenly funk

6.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Sampled at Borefts Pre-Tasting 2019. Hazy golden orange color, thin white lacing. Light citrus, rather dry, quite to very sour. Don't get sherry anymore. Still ok though.

8

Sour, bitter, sherry, oak, vinegar, apple, acidic. Overall: very good.

8.6

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

Bottle at a tasting in 100 piv. Rather less age than #3. Mostly sour, slightly sharper too, more assertive. Very nice fruity mix of acetic, lactic, etc. Fresh feeling, easy drinking. Assertive barnyard horsiness present though. Great.

9.2

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

One of four new versions in 3 Fonteinen's highly acclaimed Zenne y Frontera series, released simultaneously this summer in 75 cl bottles; two of them - like the second version in this series - are made according to the so-called solera method inspired by traditional sherry production, and this is one of them, differing from the other one (batch 3) in also containing lambics from the second run of the sherry barrels that were acquired by the brewery. Mousy, medium thick, eggshell-white, slowly opening but generally very well-retaining head, hazy deep golden peach blonde robe. Intense, noble and refined lambic nose of old dried out orange zest, grass silage, dried lemon peel, dry hay, dried bitter herbs taken from an old herbarium, dusty attic, bitter linseed, sherry vinegar and a very light whiff of 'real' sherry nuttiness, but very subtly so and revealing itself only after having 'breathed' for a while. Crisp, dry, focused onset with grape skin, lime zest and unripe plum aspects, the sourness behaving extremely well in remaining relatively soft, yet 'deep' and layered at the same time; refined, cava-like, 'cristalline' carbonation like the best of 'oude geuzes', with a smooth, supple, old bread crust-like maltiness and graininess underneath ongoing drying lactic sourness and well-contained dusty-funky notes, zesty and crisp with pronounced woody tannins and lingering 'bright' and fruity sourness - while again, the actual sherry component remains very subtle, a background note taking a while to distinguish and appreciate. The clear, beguiling nuttiness that set the previous (2nd batch) solera version of this series apart from most any other lambic I ever tasted, is not fully repeated here, contrary to my expectations; that said, it is beyond any doubt that taken as a whole, this is a lambic of absolute world class in its refinement, nobility and artisanal prowess - for that reason only, and completely in spite of that promised sherry factor restraining itself much more than I was expecting, I personally found this fourth batch the best of the four new Zennes. In a lambic this accomplished, I guess that sherry flavour does not even matter anymore: the solera method - now being abandoned for technical reasons apparently - has uplifted this lambic blend to a quality level rarely achieved even by 3 Fonteinen itself. This batch reminded me more of the legendary first batch than the second one, in spite of the production method being much closer to that of the second one...

8.9

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

Batch 3-6 sampled in a vertical, at 3f open beer days. pours darker blonde. Small white head. Smell is more mineral than other versions. Less sherry forward as well. Taste is full, intensely tart. Acidic. very nice, but less sherry than hoped for.

7.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle shared at the pre-Borefts tasting 2019, Zaandam. Poured a hazy golden orange colour with a thin white head. The aroma is big dry yeasty light citrus fruit. The flavour is moderate sour, with a crisp, fresh, tart, fresh juicy citrus, light green apple palate. Maybe to light bodied with average carbonation.

8

Same barrel-forward nose as batch 3, but with less sherry and more lambic funk, a bit more acidity. Not too shabby. 4.2

8.6

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

Bottle sampled from decanter at 3F. Hazy solid golden, slightly lighter than batch 3. Small head. Dry funk, sweet oxidized sherry, a hint of matches, sour grains, soft lemon, oak, solid sour dried fruits, spicy grains, caramel, fresh bread crust. Quite sour, very light sweet and bitter. Medium bodied with soft sparkly carbonation.