Sugar-coated confoundment

Not what we were expecting – but a pleasant surprise nonetheless; the nose had confectionery (tooty frooties, rainbow drops, butterscotch), vanilla custard slice and apples stored in wood. More vanilla reached our palates (cream horns, pastel de nata) alongside abundant fruit – bananas mashed with golden syrup, custard apple, gooseberry and grappa – while gentle nutmeg, coconut and oak teased the finish. With water, the nose presented a curious mix of syrupy rice cakes and dolly mixtures, perfumed cigarettes, pink peppercorns and injection-moulded plastic model kits. The palate, still viscous, gave charentais melon, cloudy apple juice and citrus blossoms, with liquorice, sawdust and orange peel to finish.