End-of-summer consolation

First sniff – a blast of fruit: apricot, peach and plum-filled marzipan, sherbet lemons and wasp-molested fallen orchard fruits. Peeping out from behind that, we spied balsa wood, linseed oil and hazelnut. On the palate, apricot jam and apple pie joined hands with lemon bonbons, jammy dodgers, greengages and chardonnay, all dancing round a table of oak. The reduced nose got vanilla fudge, pink wafers and walnut whip sweetness, with some dusty, end-of-summer cornfields and rye bread. The palate now set strawberry laces and apple spritz against a slightly bitter but amusing finish of burnt lemon rind, endives, white pepper and aromatic bitters.