Armand'4 Oude Geuze Herfst (Autumn)
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen

A 750ml very dusty corked and caged bottle at 3 Fonteinen lambik-O-droom, bottled on 2nd April 2010. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.

Appearance: The cork shot out of this one. It poured a hazy dark golden orange colour, with a big three finger fluffy white head that had good retention and nice lacing.

Aroma: Musty, dusty cellar-y notes. Funk, grapefruit peel, sherry bits, light caramel, apple slices and wood, while lemon zest appeared more on further pours.

Taste: Sweet and sour citrus peel, tart, apricot, dusty, funk, brett and oak.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied, with soft carbonation.

Overall: Much like Winter, this was not my first time trying it, but drinking it at the source was definitely much better. I suspect the previous bottle probably travelled too much. This bottle was very much alive with layers of complexity and super enjoyable.

Enjoying all four seasons side by side in Lot, I'm having a hard time pulling myself out from my disbelief, and as such am really contemplating each glass with a lot of time between each sip.

While Herfst exhibits a little more musty pungency than Lente or Zomber, with also perhaps a new spritz of blackberry here, these variations are only on the most miniscule level.

Really and truly, this is an exercise in subtle shifts between different universes of excellence. Again, there are so many threads of complexity woven so well into one overarching experience that it's just a fantastic, singular profile.

Shared bottle, RBNAG 2011. Again: hard to distinguish from the Lente and Zomer (which we had just minutes before), but Herfst is even more sour and lemony than Zomer, in both aroma and flavour.

Very oxidized and flat, but you can tell this would have been great. Too bad.

 

 

Bottle: Poured a dirty golden color lambic with a rather large off-white foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of funky Brett notes with some tart notes as well as oak. Taste is a complex mix of tart notes, oak and funky barnyard notes with very little sour notes are also noticeable. Body is about average with good carbonation. Solid lambic and quite lively considering the age of the bottle, probably one my favorite form this series.

For some reason I never reviewed this when I had my first bottle back in 2012, luckily I had a bottle to cellar all these years. I was a little worried because I had heard seasons were falling off, this was a killer bottle. one of the best lambics I've tasted this year, bright, funky, beautiful lambic that is nowhere near falling off.

 

 

Revisiting the series in 2020. Deep saturated amber orange, ample foam and lacing.
Oaky aroma, somewhat less than the Lente and Zomer, mild funk and subdued lemon and grapefruit.
Funky horseblanket and citrusy lemon and grapefruit notes, dry minerality. Full bodied and well carbed, very unique and expressive. Armand Debelder's masterpiece series. Thanks to Eric and Mark for sharing the bottles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I never thought I would have the chance to try this, but there was one bottle left when I went to Himmeriget in Copenhagen. Of all of the great lambics and gueuze that I got to try at Himmeriget, this one and Armand & Tommy take the top honors. Herfst is pretty difficult to describe - it is just perfect. It also had a nice ruby tint that I wasn't expecting.

Pours a beautiful amber hue with a slight haze to the clarity and a fluffy, one inch, off-white head. Nose expresses citrus, funk and delicate floral notes. Taste follows nose with the addition of green apple. Flavor profile is delicate and balanced. Mouthfeel is light in body with a pleasant acidity without being overpowering. Overall, in doing a side by side with the other three seasons, I have to say that Herfst is my favorite. I'd love to revisit the line-up in 10 years.