A rustic dance

The fresh nose evoked the French countryside – grass, chamomile, oak forest and pear and apple orchards, eventually reaching a cider press giving off citrusy, boozy notes of enticement. The palate had playful pirouettes of fruit, mainly lemon and tinned pears, but the centre stage reverberated to a clog dance of solid oak – dry and spicy, cardamom latte, cumin, cinnamon, honey and vanilla – highly entertaining. The reduced nose combined the earlier impressions of fruit and wood with appealing dessert notes of pastel de nata and crème caramel. The reduced palate – teasing layers of oak-derived vanilla, coconut and nutmeg, with mango fruit salad.