After 6 weeks of oxidization this Octomore 4.2 has gone from a "A very nice dram" to an excellent dram.

Nose; Slight lemony citrus, old vanilla, sweet smokePalate; Sweet malty smoke, lemon curd with light caramel.

Finish; Sooty smoke with light caramel and citrus. 

Not overly complex but a nice smoky sweet dram that only "New" Ardbeg can dream of.

Up from an 88 to a 89.

Overall, I like it quite well. A great balance, despite the high peat particle density. Overall, the nose is the highlight for me, whereas the finish drops off sharply. No wonder, with only five years in the barrel. I ask the question: Who is this whisky for and does the price match it? I think the fans of a lot of peat do not get their money's worth here, the sweet wine barrel balances it too much. If you like wine barrel storage, then you will definitely find better representatives. Then it is probably for collectors, flippers and fans of famous names. Full review (german): https://keinehalbendrinks.de/2020/06/01/this-is-octomore/

Dry yet sweet, if that makes any sense. At first I couldn't get much wine from it, but that may just have been because it was the last whisky in the lineup, and my nose must've already taken quite a beating by then. After a while the Sauternes becomes obvious, and it does not sit very well with me. Candied, with grilled pineapples and sugar, but also yeasty, which is not a welcome note in a young peater, regardless of whether it's from the distillate or from the cask.
The taste is dominated by the wine's sweetness, and water doesn't change that very much. It's acceptable, but there is a lack of balance going on IMO.
Tasted with the following Octomores: 01.1 (85 pts.) 02.1 (84), 02.2 (84), 03.1 (82), and 04.1 (88). While 04.1 was my favourite, Nearly half of the attending tasters voted 02.2 their top dram of the night.

Some interesting tidbits mentioned during the tasting: There are among other factors two pretty big ones for why Octomore's peat tastes the way it does. The first is that all the peat is from the mainland, as Octomore does not use Port Ellen maltings or Islay peat. The second is that Bruichladdich's stills are loaded only to around 60% capacity and driven very carefully, so there is a lot of copper contact going on, which explains why the whisky's stated PPM level does not translate directly to the level of peatiness you experience when nosing and tasting it.

In retrospect tasting 6 cask strength Octomores was the most difficult tasting I've ever been in. If regular peated Islay whisky can at times provide magnificent detail and contrast comparable to the Dutch master painters, having nothing but Octomore feels like trying to replicate a Rembrandt with a paint roller. The loudness of the phenols and the tight ABV clog the senses, so I could only finish the glass I deemed the best, and had to let my overworked nose and palate rest after that. An interesting experience in total, but I don't think I want to do it again.

Sweet peat bomb, but the finish quite dry. Not nearly as fast as expected. The sweet wine barrel softens quite a bit. Somehow reminds of the Connemara CS. But still has the typical non-maritime peat Bruichladdich.