TASTING NOTE
Appearance : topaz with copper hues.
Nose : firm, powerful. Like a tarte tatin seasoned with spices (cinnamon, clove), the first nose is also apricoty and roasted (tobacco, coffee). Allowed to breathe, fine notes of apricot stone, candied mango, blood orange and heather honey bring lots of nobility to the particularly radiant aromatic palette. Then, with distinction, a fine layer of salted butter caramel, beeswax, and apricot and vanilla aromas come to centre-stage.
Palate : rich, unctuous. Wavering between malted barley and milk chocolate, the attack is preciously woody (varnish, antique wood). On the mid-palate, exotic fruits (mango, guava, persimmon) and cocoa bean form an extremely sophisticated duo. Gradually, pipe tobacco, aromatic plants (sage, camomile, bay leaf) and dried fruit (date, fig) further accentuate the pleasant sensation of maturity found at the end of the palate. Very svelte, it lingers with lots of invigorating fruit until the finish.
Overall : long, very energetic. At the start of the finish, candied citrus fruit (orange, lemon, grapefruit), orange blossom and black tea flavours refresh the palate. Fine rancio notes (apricot, peach, wild peach), noble spices (cardamom, curry, star anise) and the same black fruits (bramble, blackcurrant) brilliantly reveal the very dense and nuanced character of the very end of the palate. On the retro- nasal olfaction, notes of cinnamon, oak stave, toast, vanilla and cedar underscore the influence of the new oak ageing. The empty glass is intensely spicy (pepper), hot (Cayenne), liquorice and praline.