Nose: The nutty coffee smell of roasting chicory, cascara tea, dark moist dried cherries cooked in wild rice. A deep floral note, that I’m struggling to pin down… like the avocado tree in my parents yard when it was in bloom, veering towards a cloying jasmine and then thumping eucalyptus / menthol on the afternote. After a while this note dominates and it feels green (sing it kermit) veering into edgy-grape peel vibes. Blind I’d swear this is an older rhum agricole or an incredibly elegant marc. It’s a potent sniff that challenges.

Palate: I feel like I’m drinking a chocolate shrub. For a while Julie tried to get me to switch from chocolate malt balls to carob malt balls. They are not the same, as the carob introduced a touch of bitterness that is a love it or hate it experience. The herbal floral notes really blossom on the palate dancing gracefully with the wood. A nice peppery bite and elegant rooibos notes.

Rating: 6 / 10 – We are now in marc territory, although after checking with them, this is distilled wine, but I wonder if some lees wandered into the process somehow. Honestly if this was closer to my personal style it could be as high as an 8, but I’m pretty sensitive to the heavy herbal side of things, and that is a barrier. But if you jive with that, this is truly special.