7.6

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

One of several variants on Alvinne's impressive quadrupel with the roaring name Cuvée de Mortagne, this time aged on oloroso sherry barrels (Alvear to be precise); bottle from Etre Gourmet. Loosely knit, large-bubbled, shredded and interrupted, open, greyish off-white 'head' (or more an irregular array of bubbles obtained with a bit of 'forcing'), obviously quickly vanishing over a hazy chocolate brown robe with mahogany glow and bits of dark protein at the bottom of the glass. Aroma of dry caramel, clear sherry but sweeter than what I expect from oloroso, Pineau de Charentes, dark chocolate hint, 'kramiek', Liège pear syrup, dried dates, raisins, prunes, medlar, brandy, lots of vanilla-exuding oak wood, sugared black tea, Belgian chocolates, brown bread crust, almond, cold Irish coffee, homemade quince jam, baked banana, oxidized red wine, shoe polish. Dense, sweet onset, brown sugar-coated pear slices, dried dates and figs and a touch of medlar, with a soft sourish edge and very soft to near-absent carb (as good as flat); very full, dense, oily mouthfeel, together with the almost flat carbonation hindering drinkability a bit. Layered caramelly, toffeeish, lightly chocolatey, nougat- and pecan nut-tinged malts, heavily soaked in sherry, with the vanillin effects of the oak coming up retronasally and the actual sherry flavour spreading out in the finish - but again, more feeling like medium dry sherry than true oloroso for some weird reason. A deep but persistent level of herbal hops provides supporting bitterness, accentuated by alcohol and the toasty side of the malts. Brown-sugary and toffeeish sweetness, on the other hand, also continue through this colourfully sherry-aromatized finish, with oxidized wine, dried stonefruit and almost tea-like herbal effects, warmed by the alcohol to the extent where it becomes bothersome and astringent, as if someone poured a full glass of sherry in an artisanal quadrupel. The sherry in the end does become a bit 'wild' and oloroso-like so in that sense, Alvinne's mission is certainly accomplished, but I miss a bit of complexity, liveliness, finesse and 'spritziness', whereas meanwhile the alcohol does get the better of this whole construction and eventually burns in the throat. If they would have managed to tone down the alcohol heat a bit (and reach, say, 10% ABV rather than the near 13%), reduce te sherry influence a bit and create some more effervescence for sheer 'digestive' reasons, this would have been another great Alvinne masterpiece; in this particular form, though, it just falls a bit short of my expectations, which are admittedly consistently very high for this usually brilliant brewery, which deserves much more global recognition than it receives now. In the end, I respect them not just for their pioneering role in postmodern Belgian craft brewing (along with Struise), but also for their immense perseverance even in a time when less and less people seem to get excited about craft beer - with one (usually lesser) brewery after another being forced to cease operations. With that background in mind, I cannot be too disappointed with this one: it is fully Alvinne, just not entirely 'my' kind of Alvinne, I suppose...

8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Pours dark, clear brown. No real head but some bubble formation. Scent is the mildest of the 3. Dried fruits, some caramel, but all and all not very intense at all. Taste is sharp, bit boozy. Woody, smooth vanilla, very complex, raisins, dried fruits, glycerol, aromatic (honey comes to mind). By far the best of the 3, the most complex and the most unique for sure.

8

Magus, puuviljane, veinine, šerrine, tammene, tummine, alkone, kirsine. Hea, ootasin hoopis midagi muud.

9

This is basically honorary #BiL, sweet sweet sherry oaky raisin super easy drinking deliciousness. Although some legit quad flavors make it through sometimes in a nice way, it's very much sherry oloroso juice with hints of tannic and dried berry booze.

8.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

8/XII/22 - 37.5cl bottle @ home, BB: III/2027, L21.1181 (2022-1727) Thanks to Ben F. for sharing the bottle!

Clear dark brown beer, small aery irregular beige head, pretty stable, a bit adhesive, leaving no lacing in the glass. Aroma: oxidized, sweet impression, caramel, some banana, pretty yeasty. MF: soft to no carbon, medium body. Taste: lots and lots of alcohol, spicy, yeast, oxidized, sugary, more alcohol, a little bitter, malty touch, some butterscotch. Aftertaste: spicy, caramel, banana peel, oxidised, yeasty, bitter, caramel, dried fruits, a bit sourish.

9.5

Oh dear oh dear, Alvinne at their finest and it's not even sour. Not thick but supple, bit boozy of course, tons of wood, and tbe sherry comes through marvelously. Sweet but not too much, barrel but definitely beer. Superb balance, and absolutely stunning