Nose: Dark dank potting soil, artichoke dip dusted with cotija, fresh cut leather, walnuts in dark chocolate, cement glue, patacones with ripe plantains or sweet potato shoestring fries, mango in chili. Slight whiffs of celery. Muscovado sugar and packing tape. With lots of time in the glass breathing, a neat note of cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and toffee.
Palate: There is something insanely masculine to this pour. Unarguably sweet, but only as a backdrop to bold base notes and powerful farm funk. Tobacco, dark chocolate espresso beans, cecina or biltong, quite gamey with such a vibrant saltiness, bourbon cherries, grilled watermelon rinds, portobello mushrooms. And a dark brown sugar to wrap. So earthy.
Rating: 7 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10 Is this the sugarcane juice talking, yet with a Spanish hand at the wheel? Or perhaps aging for 20 years on a cliff overlooking a roiling ocean. You could feel the salt spray where this cask sits, right at the door of the warehouse. Unctuous and funky. Dear lord I hope we all agree and I can convince Jose to sell it.
