COLOR – dark syrupy cherry-red and midnight fire, with deep orange and russet highlights
NOSE – like a well-aged Armagnac, with both fresh and baked cherries, a bouquet of complex herbaceous rye spice, baking and oak spice, sweet gooey caramel
TASTE – a boozier rendition of the nose, now with some dark caky chocolate, an easygoing yet definite edge of tannic oak outlining the core sweet fruit and candy notes, and a slippery syrupy texture
FINISH – more oak and oak tannin, a brandied aspect to the alcohol, the cherry notes darker and subtler, a lingering prickle from the heat
OVERALL – decadent, refined, robust, dense, and old-fashioned like some well-appointed 19th century estate library
