Cantillon Framboise

Formerly brewed at Cantillon
Style: Lambic - Fruit
Brussels, Belgium

I knew that when I had secured tickets to Belgium last August for ZBF and Nacht van Grote Dorst that I would go to Antwerp and to Kulminator in search of this beer. I prayed that at least one bottle would be left. Well the second I arrived, I had my mind set on ordering this first. By the gods, they still had some. The 1979 bottle came out with an almost deteriorated corked stuck in the side of the basket the bottle rested in. It looked very aged and molded. I prayed again that this would not be ruined. The ears of the gods were open as this was, in a word, delicious. Everything I had hoped it would be. Amber orange with splashes of ruby. Tall sturdy light gold head. The aroma on this was to die for. Wafts of tartness encompassing a surprisingly still fruity and somewhat sweet raspberry note. Light leather, barnyard, horseblanket and damp basement. After 27 years, it’s still vital and rich. I sipped this, before taking a large mouthfull of it. Sour, but a restrained sourness, and not nearly as extreme as Cantillon is known for. That’s what happens after this amount of time, I guess, with a real lambic. Raspberry, unripened strawberries, light cat urine notes, wet wood, damp earth, and horseblanket. It still envelopes every part of my mouth with it’s tart goodness even after almost attaining three decades of age on it. Body is acidic, tart, and bone dry with a medium feel and almost full(!) carbonation. Still bubbly and resilient, to my surprise. Finishes with more sour fruits notes, wet earth, dank, dusty basement, old books, barnyard notes, damp forest and light cat urine. This was almost worth the trip to Belgium by itself - a gorgeous beer. One which left my mouth watering after I was done. Worth every Euro cent of the €25 I spent.

A Mes rate: 1988 37.5cl bottle at DHVL.
As soon as this landed on the table in its basket and a generous portion poured into a beautiful etched Cantillon flute, I knew this was going to be special. The label was just starting to give way to biodegradation and obviously the bottle was very dusty. Mid afternoon autumn light was peeking through the windows, Ruud was starting to prepare me a steak in Roquefort and Rochefort sauce and once I started sniffing at this stuff, pretty much everything was perfect. This is utterly superb. Obviously quality aged lambic is generally a good thing but this seemed to be hitting the sweet spot right on the button. I watched Joost pour this from the other side of the bar and it looked nothing short of stunning with the light hitting the glass. Dark amber with a beautiful red hue and a thin white rim of bubbles. It’s an easy 5. Heavy, tart, seedy framboise on the nose but dig deeper and there are notes of sherry, strawberry, faint alcohol, wheat and spice. It’s a wonderfully warm and comforting smell. Surprisingly full in the mouth, like a jam roly poly. Sweet, tart, dry, tangy and surprisingly spritely for its age. It really is all over the place. Absolutely amazing. Zips round the mouth and wakes the taste buds banging a wooden spoon on the bottom of a saucepan. Finishes like thick strawberry jam on white bread, topped with fresh, yes still fresh, raspberries. Utterly sublime mouthfeel. Dry and sweet are balanced so perfectly it really is hard to describe. Clearly one of the best beers I have ever or will ever try and a shining example of what an incredible cellar Joost keeps.

VINTAGE 1979. Vieille bouteille verte et poussiéreuse sans étiquette. Le bouchon est noirci et est en décomposition avancée, sentant la vieille cave sale et humide. Couleur orangée aux reflets cuivrés, faible quantité de mousse blanche tachetée. Arômes dont les fruits se font toujours très expressifs, même après toutes ces années. Fruits style framboise mais aussi rhubarbe et pommes vertes, étant initialement en compétition avec les vapeurs de vieille cave et de terre moisie…Heureusement celles-ci se résument éventuellement. Acidité lactique et acétique toujours présente, dans un bel équilibre, fruits surs et acide se mariant bien aux douces notes de madérisation, rappelant ainsi un vieux vin blanc. Texture huileuse, faible effervescence, tout en subtilité. Bouteille, Kulminator, Janvier 2006.

[Vintage 1979] It has this odd pinkish orange colour which old fruit lambics often have. Acidic raspberry aroma with some notes of black powder. Very sour and acidic flavour. Superbly complex with lots of fruitiness still. Aftertaste as if you had a shot of raspberry vinegar. Wonderful.

Bottle. 1979 vintage. The label is completely ravaged! Pours a bright orange-gold and relatively clear to start out with a small white head. The aroma is surprisingly very juicy for 27 years - not so much as the 3F Framboos but I suppose that is to be expected for the age. Lots of funkiness but not in the acidic horseblanket way - I get strange notes of mustard and pickles. The fruit flavour is much more subtle and as a result it’s quite soft though there is still plenty of life - carbonation or otherwise. Tartness is evident and there is significant fruit acid. As it progresses the raspberry begins to grow and it appears to be quite juicy and yet still remarkably soft. Unfathomable complexity as the liquid diminishes. The lower portion brought upon some large black chunks of what I imagine to be cork or just awful looking sediment. It took me a good part of two and a half hours to finish this entire bottle and my stomach wasn’t too happy about it - the great thing about the Kulminator is that I wasn’t short of other things to order in the interim. It’s truly amazing how well this has stood up with time but I still wish I could have tried it back in the day. Had a full 750mL bottle at Kulminator in Antwerp on May 16, 2006.

Vintage ’79, sampled at Kulminator. Honey covered berries (cherries, raspberries), cobweb and leather - quite fruity though. Looks mostly like a glass of cognac. Very nice berry flavor, leather, salt, light yeast - a very subtle blend. relatively lightbodied, but filling on the palate.

Vintage 1979 - Kulminator, 2005: Thanks Jeppe and Carlo! Sparkling orange-golden color. Wonderful ripe apples and raspberries nose and taste. Woody and almost smokey with an iron twist. Piney with a dry finish. - Mature - great complex aged beauty!

The name of this beer has had me quite baffled. Having looked at the diverse ratings makes it clear that: 1) it is not a draught raspberrylambic, but a bottled beer indeed 2) this beer has a multitude of beers having not a lot to do with each other. At least two ought to reclassified under the Lou Pepe Framboise. the Cuvée Mozart was a one-off from already sometime ago, heavy on the vanilla - like the guy's music. The ordinary bottled C. Framboise is called Rosé de Gambinus. Enfin, these days. So, I went searching in the cellar and brought up this bottle, calling itself just "Framboise Cantillon", and a little patch added by late my father indicated he'd bought this in October 1984. For a 20 year old beer, a gorgeous "plop" accompagnies the opening, visible CO2 steam coming out of the neck. The colour is undescribable, like old red gold, containing a lot of copper, has been polished and then liquified. Pinkish head, slowly dissipating. It is a if the raspberries have been added yesterday, following the nose. But also the smell of a more dangerous carbongas, from out of pressure container. And some sweet smell - I would wager saccharine. Tart, mouth-puckering taste, woody, sour fruit, to the extend of first-phase fruit after flowering. There is a flavour which foreknowledge tells me raspberry - but it could have been gosseberry as well. Little horseblanket, but definitely wood, sulphur and a bit of sherry. In the finish the fruit taste becomes more rounder and even sweeter. Strange: no smoky flavour, indicating saccharine in old beer. Super-dry, acidburn. WOW! just the level of preservation at its age makes this a marvel. But the things one has to do for getting all the entries at Ratebeer! The colour is out of this world.