Cherries, ferries and salted berries

The soft fruits of apples, pears and tangerines merged with oloroso sherry before oily sardines joined flint rocks and wood char. Then sultanas and figs found sea salt covered chestnuts as we ventured onto a palate of ginger and liquorice. Juicy red wine notes of black cherries and jam joined burnt driftwood with salty notes suggesting brine. With water came salted dark chocolate, marzipan and hazelnuts with an obscure combination of hot cross buns and shellfish. Heavier oak now shone through with tree bark, cigar boxes and wood tannins but with black coffee, toasted barley and puffs of oily smoke that lasted long onto the finish. After spending 11 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead this was transferred to a 1st fill Spanish oak Pedro Ximenez hogshead for the remainder of its maturation.