Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

22 ounce bottle into snifter, 2002 vintage. Pours fairly crystal clear medium orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger dense and fluffy cream colored head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, apricot, melon, red apple, toasted biscuit, and white bread/crust; with lighter notes of nuttiness, leather, tobacco, herbal, wood, grass, peppercorn, pine, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, apricot, melon, red apple, toasted biscuit, and white bread/crust; with lighter notes of nuttiness, leather, tobacco, herbal, wood, grass, peppercorn, pine, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light pine, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, golden raisin, peach, plum, pear, apricot, melon, red apple, toasted biscuit, white bread/crust, nuttiness, leather, tobacco, herbal, wood, grass, peppercorn, pine, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, fairly sticky, and lightly resinous mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 9%. Overall this is an awesome old ale. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mellowly bitter/drying finish; great soft feel and not aggressive. Awesome balance of rich malts and fruity English yeast; with great earthy English hop presence/balance. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example. Held up amazingly for the age, not much oxidation at all.