Hip hip hooray!

The embrace of an American oak, first-fill, oloroso hogshead after 13 years in ex-bourbon wood has created a nose that evoked joyous celebrations – cinnamon pastries and sangria, espresso and cigars, dessert wine and blown-out cake candles. The palate combined sherry-fed Christmas cake, birnenbrot and syrupy fruits with a teasingly spiced finish of candied ginger, turmeric and walnuts. The reduced nose had our heads swivelling between humidor and boudoir impressions, but also with leather, raisins, peppercorns and prunes. The palate now provoked our appetites with various wine notes, beef bourguignon and nutty vanilla pastries, before vague memories of Andalusian village fireworks closed the celebrations.