05/12/2022 La Rouget de Lisle

La Rouget de Lisle 8yo 2007/2016 (46%, OB, ex-Vin Jaune Burgundy Barrique, 144b): nose: it feels surprisingly deep, for something that is eight years old. Oh! It is no forty-year-old Strathisla, of course. Encaustic, cardboard, dark shoe polish, dark floor wax... The emphasis is on the word "dark", really: it is seal brown or kobicha, with layers of patina encrusted in every pore of the wooden floor, in every seam of the shoes; it is a dark brown that could pass as black, depending on the lighting. Worcestershire sauce augments a spoonful of tamarind paste. The latter confers a sweet scent that grows in intensity, over time. The second nose sees a grated stock cube, dried paintbrushes (for modelling rather than decorating), and nigella seeds sprinkled onto a pot of strawberry yoghurt. Mouth: the least one can say is that the wine influence is palpable. It is fruity to an extent, in a gently-tannic way, syrupy but not cloying, and earthy-woody. We have that unmistakable combination of old stave and cork that can only be associated with wine. It feels a little light and fruity to be a claret, and actually hints at orange wine, I reckon. The second sip is thin and cool, yet the wine notes quickly sing again. There is an odd butter-cider-vinegar-and-wine-sauce dimension as well. Finish: well, that is unusual! Velvety on the way down, it radiates Sherry for a while afterwards, but also mushroom broth; the water lost by pan-fried mushrooms, or shiitake cooking water. The second gulp somehow adds baked apple to the mix, yet it is not very sweet all the same; more of a baked apple covered in savoury stock-cube crumbs. It is not exactly meaty, yet also far from sweet -- umami. Original. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Steph2A)