Charent'euse XO (Cognac de Charentes)
(has 3 batches)

One of Boerenerf's notable new creations, a geuze blended from lambics aged in cognac barrels from Charente, the French department encompassing the Cognac 'arrondissement' where all 'true' cognac is made; other producers experimenting with cognac barrel aged lambics have shown before what greatness this combination is capable of, so expectations are high for this one. Frothy, moussey, audibly crackling, egg-white head slowly receding and opening (eventually dissolving) over a misty warm apricot blonde robe with deeper ochre glow and minute bubbles rising up from the bottom of the glass. Noble and complex bouquet of unripe apricot, lots of old oak wood (wooden furniture even), calamansi, distinctive cognac but of a drier kind than the more familiar leading brands, dried apple slices, wet leather, Sémillon grape pomace, acacia gum, old dry sherry, hints of red mold cheese, yellow plum, Poire William, the dry residue of sparkling wine, crumbling dry earth. Spritzy onset, high and minerally effervescence as befits the style, tart but rounded, with a lime-like to eventually lemony sourness engulfing a milder touch of halfripe apricot, yellow plum and hard nectarine - sour and edgy enough to maintain crispness, but with a softer element inside that provides not just balance, but body as well; the minerally carbonation effects accompany a lean bready core, dried by a strong streak of lactic acidity, functioning as a sturdy backbone here and leading the flavours to a beautiful finale in which all the essential elements come together: lingering sour fruits, tannic oakiness with even a whiff of vanilla retronasally (no doubt enhanced by the cognac) and the actual cognac, with pomace- and somewhat cream of tartar-like elements as well as a deep, 'autumny' dried fruitiness of an aromatic kind, pushing through time and time again. A slight alcohol warmth is noticeable in the tail, revealing that this is indeed one powerful geuze situated above average alcohol levels for the genre; funkiness from wild yeasts (wet leather again) plays in the background, but wood, sour fruit (lemon), dried stonefruit and actual cognac remain the main players, beautifully intertwined into a long-stretched "parcours de goûts et de senteurs" that never gets boring. In the very end, a brief but entertaining bitter moment from the old hops shows up, underneath it all but lingering for a while. Dry, sturdy yet refined, distinct interpretation of a geuze - greatness indeed beckons. A majestic addition to the so far highly entertaining range of this producer - and without a doubt one to 'forget' in one's cellar for many years to come, clearly a geuze with this potential begs to be aged.

Bottle. Bottled 24-10-2023. Color: Slightly hazy golden, thin white head. Aroma: Subtle funky, hay, wood, light tartness. Taste: Light tartness and very light sweetness. Subtle rural funk, oak wood, citrus fruit, hints of Cognac. Nice complexity and very well balanced. Medium body, below average carbonation. Superb Geuze!