Nose: Whole wheat pasta shells fresh from the pot before I pour on the flavor. Fragrant blueberries. Flan. A piquant french oak lick. A&W Cream soda. Or perhaps birch beer. Shag carpet in an old folks home. Perhaps not the most complimentary description but hot damn its spot on. The nose has a feeling that its oomph has faded, guessing this has been long in the bottle. Unfortunately, the sample has been in my cupboard for quite some time and I don’t know the bottling date.

Palate: dusty at first, but quickly hits full blown maple syrup notes with a surprisingly thick gourmand mouthfeel for the abv. The wood plays a central role, with minimal impact from the uni blanc. The lightest moment of cinnamon and nutmeg and the bite of old timey sodas from the nose was legit. Old and slightly stale walnuts, maybe heading towards dried boletes but missing the umami. Perhaps that is optimistic. A thick yet somehow ephemeral palate.

Rating: 5 / 10 – Somehow this managed to be easily drinkable and yet I can’t shake the feeling that its prime years are long behind it. The flavours have all blended together and lost their character, with a pervasive dustiness that doesn’t do it any favors. I’ve had many great Laberdolive, and this wasn’t one of them. But perhaps it’s just the injustice of time passing.