N: Honeysuckle, white flowers, creamy yeast but rather light, and a fresh and subtle mint or eucalyptus flair. A note of slightly burnt honey, as if honey was used instead of brown sugar topping for a creme brûlée.

P: Generous entry of deep orchard fruits (yellow apples, prickly pears both soft flesh and crisp ones), a bit of dry straw, honey comb wax, and a trailing mineral streak. A rich upfront that wanes a little onto mid palate, then fresher onto the finish. Amazing now and could hold well into for another handful of years.

Awesome way to start a blind. This completely preps the palate for tasting, showing incredible flavors, waking the palate up, while not once weighing it down.

N: Dark and aromatic red fruits, spiced dry oak, dark and damp earth. With time, a bit of smoked meats and a pleasant side of bell peppers.

P: Black fruits with a nice bitterness from graphite, and a trail of bitter stony mineral on the finish. A pleasant delivery of comforting earth, while being generous and handing off the fruits and minerals onto the mid palate. A nice brightness that provided nice lift as well.

Favorite of the blind lineup. So comforting, approachable, and giving. It was like meeting someone new, but for some reason it is like you knew the person for a long time already.

N: Dark blueberries minus any ripeness, and the scent of standing on a stone path on a drizzly day. Initially, almost quiet or muted, but thankfully opens up with time showing nice black earth, dark fruits (more red and black), and a nice brightness from wet stones.

P: Dark and bitter oak and damp wet earth, wet minerals. This has a damp characteristic or mustiness in a good way. The least ripe of the line up on the first go. With time though, this finally shows its goods. Black fruits that are giving yet so classy. Deep and intense without ever being heavy.

This is the person who may act timid, quiet and even awkward at first. But as they get comfortable, they really open up and they're just awesome to be around.

Reminds me when I tasted from a 750ml bottle a while back (this one for the blind is a half bottle) where it started showing its best glass on the last couple of glasses. That took HOURS before it started opening up, but this half bottle also took much less time to open up and unfortunately, it was almost gone by the time it was starting to show up. Least favorite of the blind lineup but to be fair, this was on the first go where it had no time to open up. 96+

N: Blue fruits and aromatic fresh plums, fresh floral floor. Clean, pure gummy in a good way (without the starchy and plastic-y? powdered texture it usually comes in).

P: Similar fresh plums dark purple from the nose, a mix of deep earth, savory graphite and wet minerals. Fresh, brightness on the finish, almost like neon note in a good way. Neon characteristic goes away with time and turns into something darker.

This reminds me of the quirky friend. A little different at first, but with time, you get it and you don't know why you minded in the first place.

Thank goodness this wasn't as tannic as when I last tried this. It still was strong, but it wasn't a complete wall of wood, where it completely blocks off the passage to flavor town. Ranked 3rd in the lineup.

N: A full and complete forest floor, even with a bit of pine cone, and a handful of soil. Couldn't catch any fruits early on, but came through with some time, showing some unwrapped Jolly Ranchers.

P: Ripe black and dark red fruits, crushed macerated fruits, bleeding deep into the earth, gentle notes of bright minerals, and a bit of creaminess (assumed this was Maybach from that note.)

This is the friend that is always welcoming, always willing to start convos and chat, but may run outta things to talk about eventually.

Nose showed a bit different than usual to me. Ranked 2nd in the lineup.