April 15, 2024 - Drank over several days. Lasted well. A fair amount of sediment. Great tasting.
August 28, 2020 - Very caramelized and nutty, the alcohol is starting to show and the oxidation perhaps accelerating. Very long finish of dark chocolate, pine nut and orange marmalade but it is somewhat a bitter pill right now. Maybe it’ll go to 2025, with all that alcohol and sugar but...
September 25, 2018 - Oxidized caramelized fruit with chocolate and heat notes from the alcohol. Finished long but maybe a bit to hot and oxidized at this point.
July 21, 2018 - Pecked at over a few nights. Flavor profile falls somewhere between caramel - maple syrup - butterscotch. Not nearly as enjoyable as I recall from several years past. Looks to be the last of my Garagiste purchases... good riddance, then!
April 1, 2018 - No detailed note, a lovely tawny port with notes of maple syrup and good acid balance.
December 16, 2017 - Smells hot on opening, but opens up after awhile with an interesting herbal and earth character to the nose. Tastes better than most Australian stickies, with an uncharacteristic earthy herbal complexity. Nutty and peppery. Went very well with Stilton cheese. I enjoy wines like this, but wish it was not so high in alcohol.
October 29, 2016 - Light mahogany. Raisins, hazelnuts, coffee, lemon on the nose. Acid-laced syrup on the palate, sweet and sour, very pure, lasting finish. Very good with gorgonzola, a thoroughly enjoyable dessert wine. 50 + 16 + 16 + 8.
August 13, 2015 - Light dusty brownish red. Caramel, prunes, raisins, chocolate malt on the nose. Deeply charged sweet syrup on the palate with a floating acid frame, rising acid in the very long finish. Perfect complement to a simple fruit salad. 50 + 17 + 16 + 8.
August 5, 2015 - Nutty, sweet, chocolate and molasses with hints of Armagnac on the finish. Finishes long and a bit peppery, probably the alcohol.
July 28, 2015 - Finally finished off the bottle, after about two weeks of late night sipping. A little of this goes a long way, as the mildly-detracting alcoholic burn keeps one from gulping this. That backthroat trauma seemed to lessen over the fortnight - suggesting this has time to sit in your cellars - if you can wait it out. Otherwise ... the brilliantly rounded caramel palate provides for a voluptuous mouthfeel now, albeit one that might seem better planted around a cold winters night.