Cantillon Saint Lamvinus
2006 vintage, poured into tulip A- hazy, muddled rose pinkish/purple. Head of 1 finger recedes very quickly, minimal retention. Not expecting lacing due to it being a lambic, and it doesn't give any. Later pours increasingly murky due to sediment. A note on appearance- this should be poured into a champagne flute. Anything larger made for a murkier pour, allowing for more sediment to flow in, muddling it up and taking away from the appearance, and I did pour into a flute later on. S- Lambic yeast strains in evidence. From a distance right after opening, smelled of concord grapes/Welch's grape juice (the insanely purple kind). Little note of hay/barn/must, may be the yeast again. T- Tart, but not bracingly so (rose de gambrinus is FAR sharper). Still, there is a sharp bite. Might imagine it as a truly tart/sour sparkling rose wine, with minimal sweetness from the grape character and that quickly is overtaken by the acidity and tart, dry finish, very keeping in line with Cantillon's other brews. M- light bodied, carbonation is present, fizzing on the tongue, heightening the acidity. Overall, I had higher expectations, which was very affected by the high price, and so admittedly, a bit unfair. I ran the gamut of food pairings (cheese, meats, sweets) and came up with hardly any pairings that were neutral at best. (Perhaps a very fresh, sweet, cow's milk cheese or HEAVY chocolate dessert may work? I did not have these available to me at time of tasting). Taken as an apertif, this has more appeal- it is excellent for opening taste buds for later food/beverages with its sharpness and fruit character, and is most definitely for sipping. But unfortunately, this is a fairly price prohibitive beer and for my tastes, did not justify itself.