Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

500 ml bottle into snifter, 2016 vintage bottling. Pours slightly hazy medium orange/amber color with a small dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of golden raisin, peach, plum, apricot, apple, honey, wheat, and lightly toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, herbal, pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Slight booze in the aromas as it warms, but not overwhelming. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of bready malt, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop/chocolate notes; with solid strength. Taste of big golden raisin, peach, plum, apricot, apple, honey, wheat, and lightly toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, herbal, pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy hop and cocoa bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of golden raisin, peach, plum, apricot, apple, honey, wheat, biscuit, chocolate, cocoa, herbal, pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of bready malt, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop/chocolate flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/cocoa bitterness. Mild carbonation and full body; with a smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, lightly sticky/chalky, and slightly slick balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is fairly well hidden; a moderate warmth and mild booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very nice flavored wheatwine. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of bready malt, fruity yeast, and light-moderate earthy hop/chocolate flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV. I was glad this was not overdone on the chocolate flavors, still hits the style spot on. A very enjoyable offering.