2015-12-09, vintage 2007, 13% ABV, from Ølbutikken, 8 years old, 8-4-8-4-16=40
After a few more years, the vinegar aroma and the sour flavor are increasing, the funky notes maybe a bit less, but still interesting vinous woody notes; hints of acetone; a great sour beer.

2010-02-23, vintage 2007, 13% ABV, from Ølbutikken, 8-5-8-4-17=42
Dark brown color, hazy, with mahogany shades; creamy head reducing to a thin layer.
Woody aroma, with caramel and light vanilla; sourish and vinous; finally, an impression of old hops and cobwebs.
The body is lean; highly carbonated; good caramel flavor, smooth but not sweet, woody; almost immediately there is some sourness and astringency, with light fruity sourness.
It hides very well the alcohol; it ends also with soft tannins.
Elegant and deep.

2004-07-13, vintage 2002, 12% ABV, courtesy of Joris Pattyn, 8-5-8-3-15=39
Dark amber color; giant thick head. Interesting, complex aroma, malty and woody, fresh; light herbs, caramel, red wine. Vinous taste; original but not complex; malt, light sourness, woody; short. Quite hiding the alcohol, till the end (with no surprises).
Good, but I expected more…

1999 bottle drank in 2004 at Kulminator in Antwerp. Poured a hazy medium brown beer with a super huge head with perfect retention. Carbonation is perfect with bubbles still present 10 minutes after the beer was poured, which is a bit surprising considering the age of this beer. Aroma is a quite strong mix of plums, sugars and roasted malts. The taste of this beer is one of the most wonderful things I had the chance to drink in my lifetime and consisted of a mix of roasted and sweet malt, plums and a sweet bitter finish. Alcohol was well hidden and didn’t break the overall perfect balance of this beer. Body was really thick. I must now must find more of this since it is so incredible.

I agree with Brian’s comments, this is kinda overrated, but still a good beer IMO. Liquid oak color, the nose is very complex of cherries, brandy, oranges, sugar candy and oak. The mouth is very tart and not rounded at all. Cherries and vinious traits come through with a bitter dry finish. The alcohol is relatively well hidden. I would say if you have a bottle wait a couple of years when things start to round out.

A hazy dark amber beer with a fine head. The aroma is sweet malty with hints of sourness. The flavor is sweet and sour, malty and very complex - with the alcohol completely hidden. A truly amazing beer. Thanks a lot to Jeppe (BierKöning) for sharing this one with me.

2002 bottle 6-8 months after bottling
Wow, magnificent aroma of bordeaux wine, quite young smelling, with some definite oakiness. Also lurking in there is some alcohol, ripe berries, light citrus and plenty of yeast. Aroma is incredibly sniffable and full. Moderately hazy (bottle conditioned it says) with some light apricot oranges, some rose tinges and a lovely off-white head with some light reddish hues. Big vinous flavor immediately sets in, with tons of wood notes, a hint of cherry and then the beer comes on. Medium-full body, tremendously chewy yeast and ever so delicately lurking. The bordeaux certainly takes the show, but the beer adds a decidedly yeasty flavor, that works very well. Finish is chewy, some hints of caramel, with a hint of spice. A bit of orange fruit towards the end and some sweetness comes out. On the aftertaste is a lingering flavor of strawberries and grapes that is immensely pleasant. A beer that does so many things. I could easily sip this beer for hours on end. Deliciciously complex and brings the best of both worlds. Tons of leathery tannins, grape skin and on the finish a flavor that reminds me much of pomegranate. Exquisite with strong, ripe cheese. The only thing I wanted more of, was a bit more malt depth, to provide a more powerful beer flavor. But then, I think I need to appreciate the subtlety.
>2005 bottle drunk on 9/30/07
Extremely enticing aroma is much more apple-like and tart than expected. Juicy and tart red/pink apples, with a touch of grape enliven this fully fruity aroma, as a well-attenuated maltiness of raisins, light caramel and honey brace it. Light phenols and very soft wood notes that help soften the alcohol (which is, then, very well-concealed). Very strong aroma, with no flaws.
Delicious Belgian Dark Strong ale shows so much more interesting yeast character than almost all in its class, which is why De Dolle is so well set apart from other brewers.
2015 bottle drunk 12/12/15 at Festivus 2 (brewed 2013).
Not having had this one in over 8 years, but being very curious and having such strong memories, I urged my friend to get a bottle for $12 bucks. Not bad at all for a bar price.
Unfortunately, while I wasn’t disappointed in the beer overall, I was disappointed relative to how well I remember the beer. The integrity of the aroma and flavor was not so much the problem, as the very thin, bone dry, nearly astringent texture. Very, very light in body and though the carbonation was tight and natural, I was just left wondering where was the supple maltiness that I remembered? Incredibly dry, slightly chalky, heavily mineralesque wine and barrel notes greatly outdo the thinned-out body. Still, a pleasant drink and you could certainly do much, much worse. Will have to try some old bottles to see if my tastes have changed or this was just a subpar batch. Sounds like Ernest was unimpressed, as well, though. 8/4/8/3/15.
Rating is a mix of the 3 vintages I’ve rated.