Merveilleux's appearance is a hazy mixture of amber, deep red, and brown. It appears opaque unless held up to light. The carbonation level looks great but as is common for sour beers there is very little head formation or retention.
The aroma is rather mild for a sour beer. It vaguely reminds me of a gueuze lambic in that it somewhat resembles the aroma of apple cider, but not too much. There is a hint of bread and some oak tannins.
Merveilleux is surprisingly malty for a sour beer with brett yeast, and not in the same way that Flemish sours are. Quite bready with a hint of brown sugar, an excellent contrast to the usual sour flavors. The tartness comes across as a mixture of tart cherries and sour candy here; sour rock candy especially comes to mind. Oak makes itself more known here than the aroma hinted at. I'm tempted to say wine barrel stands out a bit, but in truth the blending here is so balanced that trying to identify wine barrel vs bourbon barrel proves difficult. There is a faint suggestion of butter, which is either the oak or the bacteria.
By sour beer standards, Merveilleux's texture is firmly in semi-dry/semi-sweet territory. It's definitely maltier and sweeter than the norm for sour beers. Drinkers unfamiliar with sour beers will still likely find it rather dry. The sourness is not overpowering.
All in all another excellent offering from Allagash. Its acidity is up there but balanced pretty well by a surprisingly hefty malt bill. Merveilleux stands on its own by sour beer standards but that sweeter profile almost makes it double as a decent introduction to the world of sour beers. Allagash has only released this one time so far, but with any luck they'll make it again.
Once again, Allagash shows they probably couldn't make a bad beer if they tried.
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