Winter 2010/2011.
My review on RateBeer:
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
AHTOH (53) - San Diego, California, USA - MAR 13, 2011
750 mL bottle. 2008 Vintage. Barrel No. 96. Poured into Duvel tulip. Best before: 10/08/13 (on bottom of bottle).
APPEARANCE: Pours light copper with burnt orange and light caramel brown hues. Hazy. Head is 2 fingers, pillowy, light tan/khaki colored, and has relatively large bubbles. In fact, color of head and size of bubbles is like injera. Head retention mid length.
AROMA: Vinous. Sour. Dark red fruit (pomegranate, cranberry, and some cherry). Subtle oak and vanilla bean. Apple cider. Faint sea aroma (ie, salty ocean and seaweed, etc.). Extremely faint chalkiness – much more subtle than most sours.
TASTE: Tart. Dark red fruit (pomegranate, cranberry, and some cherry). Sour apples. Extremely faint oak. Light graininess on finish. Subtle dark grape juice characteristic in background. As warms up, element of vanilla (that also has faint taste of white chocolate) as well as faint wet stone-like earthiness emerges on palate.
MOUTH FEEL: Lively carbonation. Only slightly dry - less than expected, which I found to be positive.
OVERALL: Predominantly sour taste is nicely balanced with some light sweetness. Elegant. Perfect for a hot summer night. Drinks like a sparkling pomegranate juice with light alcohol; feels healthy to drink. Highly quaffable. Unsure that the Vintage is worth the price premium over the readily available Grand Cru.
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