Taster

Nose: Foam bananas and coconut macaroons, pine trees, slightly mechanical oiliness and icing sugar. Some crystallised ginger sneaks in too.

Palate: Vanilla sponge with buttercream frosting. Sweet spice of ginger, with some rum-soaked raisins. Then dry forest floor and heather honey.

Finish: Warm and gently drying, leaving vanilla and hazelnut cream.

Comment: Warmth on the palate does slow up the flavour a touch for me – so it benefits from a touch of water.

Score: 8.2

Taster

Nose: Sticky toffee pudding (sponge cake, toffee, butterscotch) and a punnet of very ripe strawberries. Blueberries stewed with treacle, stirred through creamy yoghurt. Subtle peppermint leaf, pomegranate molasses and baked orange.

Palate: Medium-light. Orange and walnut loaf, with raisins and well-aged semisecco Marsala. Over-ripe red apple, subtle balsamic, crème caramel and toffee-dipped milk chocolate. Florentine biscuits.

Finish: Long, on the almond nuttiness.

Comment: A superbly mature and well-balanced dram without fault.

Score: 8.7