Raised cork which came out in one piece. Decanted very cleanly. Rusty red colour. Very bright and clear and a fabulous cherry smell whilst decanting. Initial glass has a slight carboard smell. Nice thick texture and dark cherry and chocolate flavours. A bit too hot for me but its only been out 30 seconds
+2 Hours
Corky cardboard smell has gone now, replaced by quite a lot of spirit. I am not getting the same experience from this bottle as I did from the previous one but, after just reading Tom's recent note, I think I have found one that is the same as his. I could well have done this in tonight but will now be keeping most of it for a day or two to see how it evolves.
+24 Hours
Much less heat on the nose and in the mouth than on the previous night although still a bit too much for me in the finish. It doesn't seem to have the body it did last night and the cherry flavours have weakened and anicede now coming through. I'll keep some for tomorrow in the hope that it pulls itself together as Tom's bottle did.
Derek