Charent’euse is a Geuze blended from lambics aged in cognac barrels from Charente, the French department where real cognac originates. Other producers who have experimented with lambics aged in cognac barrels have already shown the potential of this combination, so expectations are high for this one.
Foamy, sparkling, audibly crackling, an egg-white foam that slowly dissipates over a warm, hazy apricot-blonde liquid with a deeper ochre glow and small bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. Noble and complex bouquet of unripe apricot, lots of old oak (even from wooden furniture), calamansi, distinctive but drier cognac than better-known brands, dried apple slices, wet leather, Semillon grape marc, acacia gum, old dry sherry, touches of red-rind cheese, yellow plum, William pear, the dried residue of sparkling wine, dry, crumbly earth.
Sparkling attack, high and mineral effervescence as befits the style, lively but balanced acidity, with lemony acidity that eventually becomes citric, wrapped in a softer touch of half-ripe apricot, yellow plum and hard nectarine – acidic and sharp enough to maintain freshness, but with a softer element inside that brings not only balance, but also consistency; the mineral carbonation effects accompany a thin, bready heart, dried out by a strong trail of lactic acidity, functioning as a solid backbone here and leading the flavors to a beautiful finish where all the essential elements come together: persistent acidic fruits, tannic oak with even a touch of vanilla on the retro-nasal and the real cognac, with elements of marc and cream of tartar as well as a deep dried fruity “autumn” type aromatic, piercing again and again.
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