Taster

Nose: Sweet almond paste and allspice, followed by dark chocolate-covered ginger. Brandy-soaked fruit cake, with sultanas and cherry, giving way to toasted teacakes with butter and sawdust.

Palate: Very smooth, with dark fruit and fresh pine. Rye spice, with aniseed and peppermint creams. Pencil shavings and more dark fruit cake and chocolate shavings.

Finish: Fresh spiced warmth lingers, with the pencil shavings staying.

Comment: This is hot and thick and certainly packs a punch, but could potentially do with a little mellowing out.

Score: 7.9

Taster

Nose: Petrichor and clay, oil paints and green tea. Mixed dried herbs: sage and thyme, mostly, but even a hint of dill. Cedar wood and cigar tobacco. Coriander seed and bark mulch. Blood orange and treacle tart.

Palate: A little guarded at first, with the treacle and coriander carrying over. Baked red apple, then brown sugar takes the stage. Black breakfast tea and the accompanying tannins.

Finish: Medium-short. A touch hot, the tannins are manageable.

Comment: There’s some promising flavours in here, but it needs time to calm down a bit.

Score: 7.7