Heather Hall

9.0

Nice that it is a litre size bottle — 10 years ago

Alexandra Harner

9.5

A litre a day... — 10 years ago

with Geoff

Jason Adams

10

Litre bottle! Yeah baby!!
— 11 years ago

James Bruce

9.1

Great. Smoky. Cigar. — 11 years ago

Tom Elliot

Founder Northwest Wines

9.6

9-litre Elk Cove 2008 Pinot noir Roosevelt Vineyard. — 11 years ago

Melissa Boon

9.7

Refined, complex but easy to drink. Very attractive nose, oak, red and black fruit, vanilla, very well made — 12 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

Anthony(aug 2013) Dimarco

9.1

Really happy to find this 1 litre for only $129 especially considering 750ml sells for $100 in the store. First time for the 2013 vintage. Very similar to 2012 and another winner for me. — 10 years ago

Nick Atkins

9.3

All wines should come in litre bottles — 10 years ago

Pala Copeland

9.0

Al, Greta and I think this is quite a respectable Malbec, hearty and flavorful — 10 years ago

Brian Kelly

8.9

Good wine. 1 Litre bottles too. — 11 years ago

Päivi S

9.6

Ei ollenkaan hapokas. Sokeria 3g/l, mutta maistuu makeemmalta. Ei uskoisi että kyseessä on brut nature. Tää on niin hyvää että yksinään voi helposti juoda koko pullon. Joku väitti sopivan aperitiiviksi - no jaa..
Tästä vois tulla lempparicava, hintava mutta lemppari. Ja lempijuomathan sitten menee kaikkien ruokien kanssa. Eli pihviviini!😄
Only 3 g sugar per litre, which came to me as surprise as it tastes sweeter than that. I really liked this wine. I could easily drink the whole bottle by myself and then some! This is the best cava I have ever had. I think this is one of my favourites. Costly but favourite! And the favourite wines goes along with everything -- so bring in the beef or duck and I will open bottle of Gramona III Lustros! 😜 — 11 years ago

Kana Morihiro

9.7

@さなみ家
今さんオススメ — 12 years ago

Brent Mayeaux

Production Burn Cottage Vineyard

9.1

Cheap. 1 litre. Crown cap. Delicious. There are so many things going for this wine.

It doesn't have to be relinquished to just a food wine or thoughtless table wine because of the price. It's actually very well made.

Berries and black pepper. Lighter body with great acid. — 10 years ago

Marcos Fonseca Santos

9.4

21.07.2015 — 10 years ago

ed laing

8.9

For the price £3.00 for a 1 litre bottle this wine is punching well above its weight — 11 years ago

G G

9.0

Slightly effervescent and at a litre a good value. Went well with shellfish. — 11 years ago

Dany Poulin

9.2

1.5 litre de bonheur facile! 2010 semble être bien meilleurs que les millésimes précédents pour chateau de haute-Serre. — 11 years ago

Christopher Nicolas

9.2

Great wine. I only got to have one glass because then I put it in the fridge and forgot about it for three days. Would buy it again... One of the best non-New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs I've had. — 11 years ago

Maxence Guilluy

9.7

Cassis, blueberry, porto — 12 years ago