Ageability of Cuvee Rene

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by Pundarquartis, Sep 10, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Pundarquartis

    Pundarquartis Initiate (0) Mar 13, 2010 Denmark

    How is this one really aging? Fresh it's good, but not nearly as good as the other, more expensive gueuzes. But how does it develop in the bottle? I've never gotten the chance to taste an aged bottle, but I have heard conflicting opinions where some say it develops just fine, like any other gueuze, and some say it's not for aging at all. From what I understand it's unfiltered, so there should really be anything stopping it from being aged well, to a certain point, or is there?
     
    #1 Pundarquartis, Sep 10, 2012
  2. mocktm

    mocktm Initiate (0) Jan 3, 2011 Virginia

    I'm pretty sure that it says improves with age right on the bottle. In general, as a rule, I find all Lambics do extraordinarily well in the cellar.
     
    #2 mocktm, Sep 11, 2012
  3. Knifestyles

    Knifestyles Initiate (0) Jun 7, 2005 New York

    Had a 1994 recently and thought it was outstanding. Of course, I've never had the 1994 fresh, but I can say with certainty that it was just as good, if not better, than your average "fresh" Cuvee Rene. Carbonation was spot-on and only the slightest bit of oxidation. A really nice surprise....

    [​IMG]


    These bottles are so inexpensive that it's really not that much of an investment to experiment with extended aging....especially if you're just tucking away some 375's.
     
    #3 Knifestyles, Sep 11, 2012
  4. Pundarquartis

    Pundarquartis Initiate (0) Mar 13, 2010 Denmark

    Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. Thanks for the answer :slight_smile:
     
    #4 Pundarquartis, Sep 11, 2012
  5. ColdPoncho

    ColdPoncho Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2009 Ohio

    FWIW, we recently did a blind taste with 3F Oude Gueuze, Cantillon Classic, Cuvee Rene, and Rivertown lambic, and 2 of the 5 of us put Cuvee Rene ahead of the Cantillon (in 2nd place, behind 3F). I don't think it's necessarily on-par with the best of the best, but as for a baseline gueuze, I think it's more respectable than people are inclined to think, as it does not seem to have the same pedigree. That said, I have no info regarding its ageability, but I think the risk factor is low.
     
    #5 ColdPoncho, Sep 11, 2012
    spry likes this.
  6. callmemickey

    callmemickey Initiate (0) Aug 12, 2007 Pennsylvania

    Sadly, the 94 I opened two weeks ago was not that good. Heavily oxidized. Obviously, bottle variation happens. That said, I didn't find anything terribly interesting "underneath" the oxidization.
     
    #6 callmemickey, Sep 13, 2012
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.