Appearance: White wine. A thin tide mark when swirled. A few thick legs, some large teardrops and beading. The film isn’t hugely viscous but does cling to the glass for a good amount of time.
Nose: The ABV is carried well on the nose, with nothing hard-hitting or spicy. Confectionary sugar and tropical fruits spring from the glass. Apple chewits show up next, nice and sweet with that green apple tang. Brown sugar and a more mellow vanilla note arrive next, there’s an apple ripple ice cream feel (if that were a thing).
Palate: A lovely oily mouthfeel with that spice-heavy kick. This one is definitely more fruit-forward, mostly apple for me, and with a vanilla custard note and seeded farmhouse bread just balancing the tang nicely. There’s also a slightly bitter and drying grapefruit note. Some chocolate adds a silky element to the palate, this one is much more confectionary in feel than the 55.8% handfill.
Finish: A long finish. Sugared-apple-encrusted dark chocolate, black pepper and vanilla. With a touch of water a few berry notes and that ice cream element shine.
Overall: Very nice. Plenty going on and a nice sweet edge that is more friendly than the spice-heavy sibling of the 55.8% hand fill. I really like the balance of this one and its mellow layer.
