Sean Lowry

9.3

2016v. Very pale gold. On the nose, it smells yellow apple and grape juice. On the palette, there is an intense, deep grape flavor from the clairette, a little bit of body and back of the mouth waxiness from the roussane, and clean acidity. A lovely wine on its own. I drank it with some firm cheeses. A little bit delicate, so dont be too bold with food pairings. Bought from the domaine in CDP after running around the cellar with the wine's attendant, Ms. Helène Bleuzen, who is destined to be a famous future name in winemaking. 13.5% ABV. — 7 years ago

Angel Lewis

8.9

One of the best Australian Tempranillo — 8 years ago

Chris M

9.0

A bit sweet but very drinkable. — 9 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

This was drained very quickly. Tart red fruits, spicy and floral, with a strong mineral note running through the palette , rich & full bodied but light on its feet expressing its GC pedigree. — 9 years ago

Dave Harris

9.3

Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary Maduro. Robusto size. Wrapper is milk chocolate in color, a few veins running through the leaves. Box-pressed for an outstanding tight pack. Smell is leather, black pepper and chocolate. Nice draw, lots of thick smoke produced. Flavor is elephant hide, dry hay, dark chocolate, and espresso beans. Full flavored. Really nice complexity and overall a highly enjoyable smoke. — 9 years ago

Mark Coleman

9.1

In running for WOTN. Really well cellared. Great color, structure and elegance. 12.5% listed. — 10 years ago

Tim O'Rourke

9.3

Not reconditioned and fully mature, this is has a delicate beauty right now. A little fragile, but mostly pure Cab Franc on the nose w/ a very nice silken texture. There's plenty of tannin, but the fruit is running out so drink up! — 10 years ago

conun DRUMS

10

Sweet Jesus! Stewed cherry, cassis, smoked charcuterie, leather, with a brooding plum/almost raisin note running under the whole thing. Worth the splurge! — 11 years ago

Graham Long

9.1

Decant for 45 minutes to take the edge off. — 12 years ago

Mike Lee

10

Great $10 wine — 12 years ago

Megan Werling

9.1

either I actually found a Pinot Grigio I like or I’m drunk :D — 7 years ago

Sam Zimman

9.2

Gritty n pretty-- a lil bit country, a lil bit rock n roll-- white grapefruit rind, almost running a red light and your first kiss on your second date. Happy days :) — 8 years ago

with Morgan

Heath Shanda

9.0

Has to be good because it says UVA on the label. Security blankets and warm socks by the fire. Like a lover running his fingers through your hair after a long day. — 8 years ago

Robert May

9.0

Yet another Racer IPA. I'm running out of stuff to say... — 9 years ago

Benjamin Hickey

9.0

Very fresh with lots of acid running the whole way through. Bright fruit, minimalist winemaking. — 9 years ago

Alicia Cypress

9.1

There's a streak of something lively running up the front of the fruity palate. Candied strawberries mixed with pepper, too. — 10 years ago

Justin Smith

9.0

Really nice acid notes, lemon and lime peel. Nice little gravel, schist qualify running through. Rock with a touch of classical. — 10 years ago

Stephaughn Alston

9.0

Taste like grape juice — 11 years ago

David Kline

8.9

This wine is dense licorice and black cherry magic. Black currants too. With a thick woodsy profile and wet black muds running over evergreen. So cab-like in many ways, but reined in by the Winemaker's judicious use of oak.Somehow bright despite its depth, like a night on a still lake. — 11 years ago

Russ Marshalek

9.3

So this is way cheap near me, but it's just a solid classic Cali chard n I love its reliability — 12 years ago

Quinzy Johnson

9.5

Great, bold and "oaky" taste. — 13 years ago

with Kirsten

Jim Enloe

9.0

Very nice, needs a little time to breathe, nuts has nice fruit and tannins in a good balance. I'm running out of bottles and will be disappointed! — 8 years ago

Brenda Lambert

9.5

Nice wine even though the grapes are from CA. — 8 years ago

with Shari

Christopher Fowler

9.0

Opened this a few days ago. It was entirely too fancy too guzzle on a school night after a difficult work day, but I saw it and I wanted it and I make no apologies. Elegant. Enough tannin to keep me on my toes. Pairs well with hamburgers and running out of fucks to give. #laterwine — 8 years ago

with Michael

Paul Mabray

Founder VinTank

9.2

Running the Misha gauntlet on our own and the Riesling is divine. Flint and petrol FTW. — 9 years ago

with Angelica

Jonas Mendoza

9.0

Like a wild boar running through a field of Sagrantino in Umbria. A dense core of blackberry fruit underlies the meaty, savory flavors. Extremely firm but polished. — 10 years ago

L.J. Hollins

9.3

Sort of like running into Adriana Lima at Duane Reade; A sudden, unexpected rush of exotic beauty that leaves you a little uncomfortable.
Spotlight acidity offers a highlighting glow to an offbeat mix of ripe tropical fruit, elderflower and snowpea essences. — 10 years ago

Niek Hartering

9.0

Running Man. — 10 years ago

with Alessandro

Ian Blodgett

9.5

Lemon and citrus. Oaky and smooth. — 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