Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

2002 bottle consumed over the course of a couple weeks, Feb/Mar 2005. Pours a lovely sour cherry red, perhaps like a soft-toned, light colored merlot. A bit of head at first and then nothing. There was liquid between the cork and the cap, but there was no explosion or even any gushing at all, upon removal. Aroma is heavily cheesy, moldy, very raw and unadulterated manure/barnyard characteristics. The burgundy does not show through heavily in the aroma, with only some light oak notes and a bit of sweet vinousness. It’s odd, but I’m actually getting hints of sweet, almost spoiled-like fruits in the nose, which is very unexpected (thought it would be a heavily dry, grapeskin-like aroma). Flavor is, yet again, superb IMHO. Acids and oak surge forth and the palate is overloaded with ripe cheese, oak, and subtle, dark grape notes. Ripe fruit notes, cherry pits, balsamic vinegar and a very strong note of strawberries. Yes, I do belive I love the strawberry flavor in here. Finishes tart and lightly acidic, losing some of the cheese as it breathes and warms. I stoppered the bottle and tried it over the course of a couple of weeks and every time it was fantastic. As the carbonation began to die off heavily, at the end of the bottle, there was a stronger sense of tannin-rich oak and dry berries/grapeskins. Another very high rating from me of a Cantillon product, but I can’t help it. It’s just so flavorful and not-overdone. The barrel aging has a fairly strong influence on this beer, but is not too dominant and works very well with the barnyard and tartness. Still, I could see this benefiting from even less barrel character.