Batch 3 2019

Brewery MeuZenne
Style Lambic Style / Sour/Wild / Barrel Aged / Blend / Mixed Fermentation
Origin Liège, Belgium
ABV 12%
Volume 750 ml
Price £45.00 (£37.50 ex VAT)
Availability Out of Stock

MeuZenne is a blend of Oude Lambiek from the Den Herberg Brewery and a Belgian 'vin clair' from the wine cooperative Vin de Liège, which has been allowed to mature for 9 months using the 'sur lie' method (on yeast). The lambic and white wine ferment into a fine sparkling wine with an alcohol content of 12% and a dosage of 6 grams.

The colour resembles an old champagne, between light gold and light amber. The aromas go in the direction of the lambic on first contact, but the vinous predominates in the middle palette. The acids of the lambic were nicely absorbed by the matter of the wine. The whole stands out for its originality, freshness and digestibility.

ABV 12%
Style
Bottle Conditioned Yes
Organic No
Gluten Free No
Vegan Yes
Volume 750 ml
Other Ingredients Vin de Liège
Container Glass Bottle

Andy De Brouwer came up with the idea a few years ago to mix geuze and champagne as the house aperitif of restaurant Les Eleveurs (Halle). He called it a 'half-and-half'. It became such a success that the idea was copied by other restaurants, often in an ill-considered manner. Some replaced the champagne with cheap cava and the gueuze with lower quality kriek. That is why Andy had the conceppt and process of the 'vin lambieké' legally protected. Instead of simply mixing two alcoholic drinks, Andy De Brouwer decided to blend an Oude Lambiek of the Den Herber brewery with a 'vin clair' from white hybrid grapes from the Liège wine cooperative and to let them undergo a second fermentation in the bottle.

MeuZenne is the contraction of the names of two rivers: Meuse (= Maas) and Zenne. The wine comes from a limestone rock in the Meuse valley, while the Oude Lambiek comes from the Senne Valley.

Andy De Brouwer is owner-sommelier of restaurant Les Eleveurs in Halle. He graduated as a master sommelier at the Ter Duinen hotel school in Koksijde. In 2012 he was named Sommelier of the Year and he was elected First Maître d'hôtel of Belgium 2019. Together with colleague Yanick Dehandschutter, he also received the HORAL Lambic Award 2020.