The colour is very dark at mahogany, and the nose offers an impressive and complex old-style sherry profile right from the first sniff. The casks must have been mainly from European oak as there are a lot of tasty herbs and spices, way above the usual level. The sherry is absolutely flawless and offers all the aromas one could expect from old excellent sherry wine. After some breathing the impressions of an old Scotch gentlemen's club ("The Library") join in with adorable leather notes (both leather armchairs and leather books), dusty papers and furniture polish. All is balanced, without off-notes and truly adorable. I could sniff this dram for hours, and it adds new impressions all the time (e.g., roasted coffee beans after 45 minutes)

The taste is multi-multi layered with dozens of interwoven flavours in perfect harmony. The sherry is in the driver's seat first, but both the malt and the wood hold their heads up high. The wood is firm and adds delicious spices and herbs beside the tannins, and the latter are absolutely okay for such an old dram. After some chewing the flavours combine to a tasty impression of spiced dark chocolate (which I adore). The malt adds bold waxes, molten sugars and some fruits too, and the combination of all three malt, sherry and wood is an irresistible recipe.

The texture of this dram is excellent with an arrival which instantly coats all parts of my mouth within seconds and without any distracting bitter or astringent moments despite 42 years maturation in an oak cask. Accordingly, the finish is long and extends the dark chocolatey impressions into eternity. The tannins get a little louder towards the end, but this is not distracting at all, simply because all other flavours stay bold and impressive too. Water is not needed, but does no harm either.