mmm mmm mmm, My most expensive beer at 28E or ~£20 I was worried about this at that price but i loved it. Deep ruby coloured, rich liquer like tracle rum nose, think viscous syrupy sweet with a little smokeyness, little woody treacle, with hints of sherry and a little spirit like evaporation on the pallate. Acording to the bottle its also best before "the end of the world" nice deep red ... deep rich soft treacle and plums .... rich syrupy body ... light meatyness ... toffee ... just so smoooth ... no alcohol showing ... all the best aspects of barley wines ... im glad this hasnt dissapointed ... so im gonna stick at 4.8 its tricky at this level definitly 4.5+ but yeah i am digging this so gonna stick ... Ok almost all the way through ... stunning but droping just a pip to 4.7

2004 Vintage Near as no head; dark red chestnut beer. Very stimulating, nosevein-dilatating portwine or other fortified wine aroma, with exotic woods as sandelwood & cedar, chocolate, alcohol, fusels and fuselesters. Vinous, especially as exceptional vintage port. Very sweet, vinous, Marssala, and definitely again mild chocolate notes. Faraway hints of oranges, preserved in brandy, sucaded fruit, slowly oxydized and (if that were possible) esterised malts, with exotic spices seasoned. Viscous to syrupy, explosion of body & flavours at each sip, indestructible. It might miss just a tad of balance, defending itself from the ethanol onslaught, but it is a wonderful beer anyhow, something to be savoured slowly after dinner. Mille grazie, Lorenzo, for bringing me this bottle!

2010-08-21, vintage 2005, 8-4-8-4-17=41
The Xyauyù Ultimate Tasting
http://tinyurl.com/xyauyu1
Hazy dark amber color, lighter than the Silver and Gold; flat. Caramel aroma, sweet, oxidized, with light vanilla, less fruity than the silver, with more alcohol; it reminds me some accomplished French or Polish Mead. Very sweet malt juice; the alcohol seems more evident than in others, but it complements well the sweetness; there is a good trace of raisins. The final is more nutty. Excellent, solid as the Silver, but more vibrant.

2006-02-04, I had a taste of this at the Birratrovo in Como, 7-3-7-3-15=35
Amber colour, still. Strong aroma and taste, thick and oily; caramel and mature malt (Madeira), wood influence, Porto wine. Interesting.

[I also tasted this some time before official release, namely at GBBF August 2005, courtesy of Lorenzo. Thanks a bunch.] A pale brown beer with no head, but it lazes the glass just like a sherry. The aroma is very sweet with notes of prunes and wood. The flavor is sweet, but at the same time slightly sour, somewhat like a Flemmish Sour Ale, combined with notes of lots of wood and lots of prunes and grapes, but also a slight alcohol burn. The mouthfeel is thick like syrup. WOW - I want to get hold of this when it is released.

2005 vintage, sampled 2012. Light brown, flat and no head. Intense, fortified wine character with lots of dark, sweet, sugary things. Oxidized palate with dark fruits, lots of life and body. Mapley almost...and reminds a bit of commandaria. Always a cool experience, I never get tired of this brew.

2005 vintage, sampled 2009
Vibrant golden-burgundy with some haze particles. Flat. No head. Doesn’t look bad, though. Deep caramel with some brown sugars, but also some cardboard. It’s got fruity notes, but also olive and a hint of chocolate. Very sweet, brown sugary, with lots of fruity complexity. Rich. So rich in fact it takes on a mead or sherry quality. Really cool stuff.

Original rating, 2005
Pours still. Oily looking. Bright copper colour, with legs. The aroma is richly malty, vinous and alcoholic. I’m surprised at the abv being so low, because in appearance and aroma this is a much bigger beer, in the utopian league wherein the product of barley and hop has moved beyond beer into a totally different form of beverage. The flavour confirms this - soft, sweet, and very decadent. Brown sugar maltiness and light esters keep the beer rounded. The body is exquisite - a sticky dessert that glides down your throat. This goes beyond barley wine to a happy place. 7-3-8-4-16 = 3.8