View source for Barrique Levenswater

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== Description ==

Barrique Levenswater is a blend of 1, 2 & 3-year-old lambics aged on a single Levenswater barrel from winery Genoels-Elderen, Belgium.

Since the start of Bokke in 2013 I started working with local wineries to source barrels and grapes. From Winery Genoels-Elderen I get some chardonnay and pinot noir barrels every autumn. Aside from making wine, they also have a side project of making grappa from the chardonnay pomace, which they call Levenswater. Levenswater is aged in barrels under the old castle, which dates back to 1859. It is normally aged up to 8 years and then bottled. 

In 2017 they found some forgotten barrels in the cellar, which were filled in 2003, so they aged for 14 years, which led to a truly extravagant version of the Levenswater. I acquired that barrel, in which the beer Barrique Levenswater 2017 was made. The barrel was so intense, that it was suitable for another beer, so in March 2018 I filled the barrel with lambics brewed in 2015, 2016 and 2017. 

After another one and a half year of aging in the Levenswater barrel, the beer picked up a massive Levenswater character. To blend it into a balanced composition, it was further blended with lambics brewed in 2016 and 2017 which were aged in chardonnay barrels from the same winery. An intense Levenswater character, and the brightness from the chardonnay barrel. 

Bottling date: December 2019 

Alcohol by volume : 6% 

Recommended cellaring temperature : 12°C 

Recommended serving temperature : 16-18°C 

Aging potential : pretty much infinite

== History / Other Notes ==
Levenswater is a brandy distilled from Chardonnay grapes and barrel-aged for 14 years. Bottled February 2018.

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