Bottle (don’t remember the vintage) drunk on 1/27/07
Very bright, brassy gold and hay colored body is glassy-looking, but still transluscent. Fat legs are left on the glass.
Thickly sweet, but with a wildflower/perfumey pungency that cuts through the sweetness quite well. Definite medicinal phenolics and light alcohol sharpness appear on the end, but with such low attenuation, all of the pungent, sharp, phenolic and perfumey characteristics are very welcomed as balance. I suppose I smell the "blé noir", and it gives off a lightly hay/straw-like scent, but I certainly would never pick it out blindly. Medium strength of aroma.
Very sweet up front, just like the aroma, but lavendar notes, wildflowers and light lemon zest-like notes arrive on the finish to help balance. Dry, almost dusty/chewy buckwheat is noticeable, leaving a bit of grassiness or herbal-like flavors behind and helping soke up some of the fat honey sweetness. Alcohol warmth is definitely strong, with some estery/phenolic spiciness on the finish. It’s sweet, for sure, but I like texture of a sweet mead much more than a dry, and this one didnt cloy my palate, rather the perfumey sharpness and alcohol balanced things well enough. Maybe a touch of soapiness, but I think that’s just the buckwheat. Interesting to see the other scores, I’ll have to try it again, though I’m surprised to see everyone call it cloying as I am usually the last person to enjoy something that others feel is too sweet.