The Vigne
de Garde Brewing

 

 

 

Almost two years old (bottled 5/20). Bottle to snifter.

Look: Pours a dark, slightly opaque red with a large-pored, light red foam that dissipates very quickly.

Smell: Red wine grapes. Fruity, funky and yeasty.

Taste: Red wine grapes. Red berries. Medium sweetness, slightly tart and a dry finish.

Feel: Vinous and juicy with a high carbonation. Rather smooth than sharp.

Overall: Beer-wine hybrid that drinks like a funky red Pét Nat. Overall very smooth and nicely balanced, almost refreshing. Great example of the style.

Bottle Date: May 2020
Palate Contaminants: other beer

Red-purple color, and it's opaque. Some moderate-fine head, looking somewhat like raspberry whipped Jell-o. Points for uniqueness.

The smell is more woodsy-slash-oaky than anything. I suppose there's rhubarb. Oh, and funk like George Clinton, although I'm more of a Sly kinda guy, myself.

Berries are back in the taste. It's kind of like that blueberry-raspberry puree, although there's a cough syrup thing going on. Funk is dialed back. Moderate sweetness. Some perfume occasionally peeks through. Soapy cilantro hits on occasion. Weird, but easily palatable. I just wish the oak would hit harder, it could really tie everything together.

Feel is sweet and mildly astringent. The berry puree is the main aftertaste. Alcohol is well hidden. Medium carbonation that is prickly.

 

Foggy brick red with a tall mauve-ish off-white head settling to a dense blanket that retains well.

Surprisingly smooth and tame for de Garde, this fruited AmLam has a sort of apple tart and praline character to it before the zin and even merlot-esque red wine tannins come up.

After having a little something sweet to eat and then returning back, a minimal oaky funk that's a little nutty and cedary becomes detectable. That the funk is not more intense is unique when it comes to de Garde.

The medium body has a fluffy, airy carbonation and finishes powder dry.

 

L: A light ruby red color.
S: Strong white grape smell.
T: A tannin-heavy grape flavor with oak notes at the end.
F: An enjoyable light white wine.
O: An odd light wine as a beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

750ml cork and cap bottle, stemmed glass. Dark purple reddish body, one finger white head, short retention and no lacing. Smell is red grape must, a bit of tannic skin, sweeter grape flesh, light oak, touch of lemon acidity, moderate acetic acidity on top of that with a bit of leather on the finish. Flavour is reasonably complex with a nice grape fruit sweetness. Nice tart lemon, light oak and vanillin, tannic with a leathery finish. Medium bodied, appropriately carbonated, tart fruit and cereal sweetness on the finish.

oh my god is this ever good! another wonderful wild beer with fruit, specifically wine grapes, from these guys, it seems to be what they do best, and this amazingly funky and mature lambic-esque beer with all of these rich red zinfandel grapes just makes for a very special beer, up there with the best i have had from de garde, which is really saying quite a lot at this point! so stoked to have found this in denver, goed zuur of course, where else?! reasonable bottle price too for what it is and the relative rarity, at least in this market. gorgeous sparkling purple red color to it, like stained glass with the afternoon sun coming in and a slowly settling airy light pink head. striking aroma, funky woody wild ale first, tannic vinous fruit second, tons and tons of both funk and fruit. the taste is just next level, similar to some of the other red grape ones i have had from them, but a touch sweeter throughout, as much the grape itself as the wine it yields which is cool, and the sweetness is not a detractor. the base beer is so funky and woody and old, its crazy, could be lambic from a classic producer, these guys have their wild process dialed. tartness from the fruit meets a light bacterial acidity too in the finish, and the carbonation is high enough to unite them in this puckery explosion of zinfandel goodness on the swallow, its pure magic. warms up well too, musty on the bretty side, which i really like with the fruit, its kind of grounding in the absence of much malt character. exquisite beer, the beat goes on for de garde!

edit: not sure of the vintage above as i obviously did not note it, but just got into a 2017 bottle here in the winter of 2026, and boy is this doing well still, some old red wine character to the fruit now, leathery and darker, less bright, even though the sourness of the overall beer has seemingly advanced at least a little bit, but this is well short of vinegar level or anything, still very drinkable really. deeper red, crimson, short head, maybe a little less lively visually, insane oak intensity, so saturated in that regard, beautiful and recognizable fruit, but with raspberry, cherry, and strawberry jelly fruitiness too, very much like the wine these grapes yield. mature as can be but definitely not past its peak, warms up so well, a cedar note i get in some other older de garde beers, black currant tang, and somewhat of a medicinal funk too, some iron rich almost blood-like minerality, light saline character too, just so complex and good. amazed at how good this still is, truly built for the long haul. a joy to drink with friends old and new! leaving original scores alone.