Taster

Nose: Grapes, rye bread, bruised cooking apples. With water up comes some chemical stinkiness, like boat diesel. Gooseberries and marzipan.

Palate: Rye, earthiness and rubber tyres. Intense.

Finish: Lots of European oak rubberiness, like gnawing on a Wellington boot.

Comment: A dirty, grizzly thing which dolls out some rough, tough flavours. Be (slightly) delighted and (mostly) disgusted all at the same time. Never ever boring, but very far from perfect.

Score: 5.5

Taster

Nose: A somewhat alarming Lucozade-like colour. Vegetal, with notes of hamster cage, sunflower seed, then masses of oak.

Palate: HUGE, sweet oak extract. Leather laid over charred wood and a machine-oil note that brings to mind a cooperage workbench.

Finish: A bit grubby.

Comment: Here's oak being used as a Romulan cloaking device to hide young(?) spirit. I can see what they're trying to do, but this needs tweaking.

Score: 6.8