Effie Genovese

9.3

Oh so yummy and smooth. Savour it in front of a fire on a cold night — 9 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.3

I'm off to see the wizard........The wonderful Wizard of Hundred Acre's 😜
Lol — 10 years ago

with Christine

Galen Hasler

8.9

Out of balance fruit bomb. Delicious but not exciting. Wait a couple hundred years then try this terroir — 10 years ago

Christine Withrow

9.5

Not too sweet, not too dry. Rich with flavor and mild after taste. Lol, love my choice of words? — 11 years ago

Nate Torpey

9.0

Very smooth delicious wine. Not bad at all for a $13 bottle of wine — 11 years ago

Kevin Yen

9.6

2014/2/22 @born one-hundred-day party of xiao-gu's daughter，magnum bottle — 12 years ago

Ashlee Olds

9.7

2011 red blend... BevMo exclusive.. One of my favorites. — 13 years ago

with Shelby

Martin G Rivard

9.7

The 2013 the HR is no longer the wine of the night as we opened up a hundred acres which scored 100. The epitome of richness and opulence. I love this stuff! — 9 years ago

with Christine and Gina

Ryan Carey

Founder Wine Confidential

9.2

Finally trying Cherry Pie (from Hundred Acre). 3 different single vineyard Pinots from 2012. Stanly Ranch is dynamite (and a vineyard to keep an eye on). Reminiscent of Kosta Browne. Next up is Rodgers Creek. Darker fruit. Less explosive, but a nice wine. Third up is Carinalli. Way lighter, though some spice to it. It's fine, but doesn't hold a candle to the other two. (Thanks Mastro's in Scottsdale for hosting me!) — 10 years ago

Boich Family Cellar

9.8

One of our favs. Love the fruit forward feel. Finishes very well. — 11 years ago

Roger Cabrera

8.9

Pretty good. I like that it's lower alcohol in comparison with its new world cousins. Tons of fruit and pepper. Some mint in the background with a smooth clean finish. — 11 years ago

Glenn D

9.1

Spicy, soily like the aroma of fresh dirt & chocolate sprinkles. I just enjoy this wine. — 11 years ago

Alex Lancial

9.8

Hits the back of the tongue quite nicely! still fruighty and light — 12 years ago

Mark Lindzy

9.4

Tiny production Ramisco (7,000 bottles) from own-rooted centurion vines on sand dunes outside Lisboa. Aged 3 years in hundred year-old Brazilian oak foudre - wha???

Beautiful wine, tart cherry, dried herbs, a little of that ol' saddle leather too. Moroccan lamb fits the bill rather well. — 10 years ago

with Josefa

Robert Branden Shine

9.2

Spot on amazing this year so layered so structured many of you have a lot to learn. This wine means a hundred percent mistake its taken way after most cote de Rhone with super high Brix. But it pans out perfectly he's got the right amount of structure light oak and distant layering!!! — 10 years ago

Dirk Pitt.

8.9

Yes it is Noon and yes the wines are big and the alcohol is a bit high. BUT the wine is extremely well balanced. Great acidity and a great representation of Langhorne Creek. — 10 years ago

Rob Winn

9.7

This was an amazing bottle of wine from a great vintage. Very balanced, with fresh, vibrant fruit. Excellent!!! — 11 years ago

Ross Ferguson

9.1

Had to find the corkscrew!?! — 11 years ago

Omar Castillo

9.1

One of the better Malbecs Ive had. Dry and perfect w carne asada or argentinian steak. — 11 years ago

Joe Carroll

Owner/Wine Director Spuyten Duyvil, Fette Sau, St. Anselm & Gotham Artisanal Provisions

9.5

Jean Van Roy's amazing story of Zwanze 2013. When we started renovation works in the cellars of the brewery two years ago, much to our surprise we came upon the remains of some very old walls. In agreement with the medievalists of the city of Brussels, the works were stopped in order to allow archaeological excavations to take place.

Shortly thereafter we were astonished to find out that Cantillon brewery had in fact been built on the ruins of the very ancient Abbey of Cureghem! According to the medievalists, this religious community was well-known during the middle ages for its fowl fed on draff and, more specifically, for its dish of stuffed Cureghem capon, which was served with a beer brewed at the abbey and apparently drew pilgrims from all over Europe.

Yet it was truly a heavenly surprise when the excavations uncovered the cell of the abbot, Father Faro. In the small room the archaeologists found quite a few old reference books, one of which contained the original recipes for the beers brewed at the abbey several hundred years ago. We didn’t hesitate for a second and decided on the spot to recreate one of these mythical beers.

This beer, which will be our Zwanze for 2013, therefore bears the name of its illustrious place of origin, Abbaye de Cureghem (Cureghem Abbey). Cureghem was formerly a village established many centuries ago on the banks of the Senne, the river running through present-day Brussels. The area was very heavily industrialised during the 19th century and, among other things, became home to many breweries. Today, it is part of the municipality of Anderlecht.

Since beers commonly referred to as “abbey beers” are not, or not any longer, products of spontaneous fermentation, we decided to brew a top fermentation beer, from a technical point of view in any case. The yeasts were selected in collaboration with Institut Meurice, a post-secondary college in Brussels specialising in biotechnology. Brewed in March 2012, our “Cureghem” beer fermented four weeks in stainless steel tanks before being blended with 10% lambic and pumped into 400-litre barrels of various origins. After maturing for six months, the beers were blended and put into casks or bottles to undergo re-fermentation and reach 7.2% ABV (Alcohol by Volume).

Inevitably, a top fermentation beer brewed in a spontaneous fermentation environment will be affected by the wild yeasts in the air, and this is certainly what happened in our case. For our Cureghem, the cultured yeasts were clearly the main factor behind primary fermentation and I think that the wild yeasts in the beer will instead play an increasingly important role as the product ages. However, despite the addition of the lambic to give it a little “extra something” in terms of character and ageing characteristics, this Zwanze cannot in any case be considered a spontaneous fermentation beer.

The long fermentation period coupled with the presence of wild yeasts lends this beer a solid character with a dry finish that lingers on the palate, while the combined use of fresh and aged hops yields both freshness and bitterness. Moreover, the different malts used give this year’s Zwanze a coppery colour along with a touch of caramel and candied fruit that provide body. Clearly, this is not your standard “abbey” beer but, perhaps, it is representative of what these beers were one or two hundred years ago — 12 years ago