Nose: Brown sugar jerkey, cinnamon, star of anise, dried apple rings, mulled cider, this is really nice.
Palate: Light and gentle entry. Juicy. Apple pie. Sour grass. Celery and white pepper on the finish.
Rating: 7 / 10 – a very elegant and accessible pour. Yummy.
Nose: Mexican hot chocolate, pipe tobacco, puer, cascara
Palate: Slightly salty and umami. The weird sour funk of Umeboshi. Limestone. Potting soil. Black forest cherry cake.
Rating: 7 / 10 – a big complex profound full metal pour. Raise your glass.
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.
Nose: Chocolate mochi. Not the icecream ones, but the jelly like bean paste. I actually prefer the fried red bean sesame balls personally. Which also applies quite well on this nose. I kinda screwed up the first piece of mothers day today. Brunch! Yes please!! Reservations … craaaaaaap. Thank goodness I had those legacy Michael Jackson tickets in my back pocket. Not necessarily my jam, but happy wife. After 30 minutes of wandering we found an open asian buffet, which had a line but gave us a table. Sweet and sour soup. The deep fried duck was a standout, paired with the plum sauce takes me into the classic oloroso dried dark fruit. Goji berries and fresh leather. A lovely nose. The celery salt note I associate with older redbreast is a touch hidden, but not lost.
Palate: Yum. Packed with flavor without getting too deep and brooding. Dried cranberries, cherries, dark chocolate and granola trail mix. Pomegranate reduction on chocolate sorbet. Cloves and cinnamon sprinkled on toasted butter brioche. A gorgeous oak hug. It’s just elegant. Pairs well with a solid bossa nova.
Rating: 8 / 10 – Thank you so much @martin for the sample. There is a mystique to the oldest age statements, but FaH nailed it with picking the younger sibling.
Nose: Salty with hints of acidity. Celeriac, artichoke hearts, rhubarb, hibiscus flower. Apricot or wildflower honey. Bark mulch approaching a composting grass pile. Mexican 7up.
Palate: Intensely wood forward, which you would expect given the cask size. Bienmesabe (almond paste). Peppers and small ginger notes. White wine reduction. Lime peel. Quite tart.
Rating: 5 / 10 – for what people paid, I don’t get it. A fine experiment.
Nose: First instinct is masala. Or some kind of wine cask. But I then doubt myself. Which is frankly a reflection of my week. Shit got heavy enough I started baking during calls. Embraced the call of thick moist banana bread. I added espresso grounds, dark chocolate nibs and a big old dollop of a high ester beast. And folded in greek yogurt. This is probably one of the more restrained noses and it has a dry grass and high wood note that isn’t my jam.
Palate: Astringent, young grape eau de vie notes. I could almost believe this is an older armagnac that lost its way and went flat, but then the sweetness layers in. A bit of oaky chew, but not the spice cabinet. Hints of herbal and bitter forest mushrooms. Damn dude, I don’t love this.
Rating: 4 / 10 – Ohh I looked it up and it’s a Darroze finish. Wish they shared what domaine. Mostly so I know what not to send as a finishing cask. But it does have that bitter herbality I often find in some of the older Darroze bottlings which I try to avoid.
Nose: Super light celeriac, banana bread, cake frosting, baking powder, anise seed, allspice, zucchini, cedar decking.
Palate: What a roller coaster ride of a palate, sweet on the fore palate and then whoooooaaaaaaoooooo sour then bitter the woody into over steeped tea and greens. Sour grass and unsweetened limaide. Chewing on grapefruit peel.
Rating: 5 / 10 – It’s like a sour patch kid. It’s barely drinkable, but attracts me with the call of a neurotic adventure junky. It’s just fun, but can hardly imagine reaching for this often, if ever.
Nose: Strong floral and mountain pine needle notes – potpourri, white peach, ripe apricots, kumquat, a hint of farm funk – like hugging a sheep in the sun, with slightly astringent pine cleaner note.
Palate: A lovely light peach fragrance, even peach gummy on the long finish, with hints of warm spices. Incredibly balanced between fruit and wood. The pine / astringent note is present. This is delicious but that astringence is quite strange.
Rating: 5 / 10 – What a strange set of conflicts. The fruitiness is amazing. The astringence bizarre. I don’t know what to do with this.
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