Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait

Brewed by Brouwerij F. Boon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Lembeek, Belgium

How old was this bottle? Anyway, Poured a muddy reddish brown color, practically no head, what was there was tan with a red tint to it. Very nice aroma of sour cherry, still some barnyard left in it. Flavor was muted and not incredibly fruity, light sourness. The body has gone downhill as well, it doesn’t have that effervescence. Yeah it was past its prime, but it was still pretty nice and I did enjoy it for the most part.

1996? Bottle sampled @ RBSG 05’ (Montréal) Grand Tasting
Muddy mahogany, tons of sediment, no head, no lacing. Nose of light sourness, earthy notes and tart house character. Delicious and sweet, not much fruit but the bacteria are screaming to their death as my palate relishes their flavor. Tart, odd but sweet and a bit more fruity in the tail. An off kilter but solid lambic

Luckily, I got the chance to rerate this from a bottle that must have been much better kept. Rerate (8-4-9-5-17=4.3): Strong barnyard, sharp, fresh raspberries in the aroma. Opaque reddish-brown body topped by a generous and lasting, fine bubbled, pink-tan head that laces beautifully. Strong, fresh, sweet raspberry flavour with balanced, tart acidic finish and plenty of funk. Medium body with soft, collapsing effervescence that engages the tongue and cheeks. Bottle (2000 Vintage) shared with newfound old friends in the sunshine on the sidewalk terrasse at Plan B in Copenhagen.
Original Rating (7-1-5-2-11=2.6 Not Counted, but kept for what it’s worth): Sour cherries, faint, funky, farmhouse, barnyard, horseblanket aroma seems somewhat tired but still passably enticing. Dull reddish-brown body with thin, white, fully-diminishing head and plenty of floating protein chunks. I’m not sure how you all can give this such high appearance scores, it really did not look at all appealing to me. Sour cherries, farmhouse and leathery character are still there in the flavour but struggle to the surface through iron, dust, cardboard and a unidimensional acidity. Flavour dies very quickly in the mouth. Body feels thin, dry and lifeless with almost no carbonation and a rather watery texture. No idea how old this bottle was but it was certainly past it’s prime - and I think perhaps I got the bottom of the bottle with the yeast shot. Still I’ve always wanted to try this one... Bottle sampled at RBSG’05.

RBSG 2005. Couleur rouge brouillée aux reflets brunâtres, faible quantité de mousse nous quittant rapidement. Concentré de fruits, poussière et quelques notes animales en arômes. À peine tartrique en bouche, passablement oxydée, timide présence de fruits. Corps d’épaisseur mince, finale ramenant l’oxydation.

Sample from 750 ml bottle of indeterminate or merely forgotten age at RBSG Montreal. Dully, dirty, muddy reddish-brown, dried blood with little head...mostly sour fruit in the nose, cherries and a bit of apples, dusty and decayed...very low carbonation flattens the flavor profile, dusky old cherries and dried grasses warding off challenges of light bitter chocolate and licorice...funkiness in the background does not erase general lack of impact. Probably a somewhat too old or improperly stored sample, and a bit of a disappointment though I still enjoyed it. Hey, I can’t complain, I’ve wanted to try this for years!

RBSG 05 Pours a murky dark red color with floaties and no head. Funky, dusty aroma of cherries. Very good flavor of funky cherries. Dusty and dry texture, soft carbonation.

RBSG 2005: Poured brownish red. Mild barnyard and yeast aroma. Nice bite of cherries in the flavor. A nice drink for sure.

(33cl bottle) Sampled at RBSG 2005 in Montreal. Pours headless with a deep copper body. Nose of sweet pennies and cherry. Tart, sour and thin. Sadly a bit of a letdown.