Nose: In the blender glass, the first nose is characterized by intense, very structured sherry aromas. Reminds of the clean sherry aromas of good Glenfarclas Family Casks. Perfect harmony of cask and distillate. Appears very mature, but not woody or old. Very elegant. Raisins, beeswax, forest honey, damp dark wood. The flavors are broad and also deep. Slightly fruitier with water. I would leave it out.
Palate: Again this perfect harmony and a clean interaction of the impressions from the nose. Slightly more oak and tannins than the nose, but that's to be expected and is enhanced by water - so I'd leave it out. Oily beeswax and dark sherry flavors (raisins, leather and dark sweet treacle).
Finish: The mouthfeel is broad, heavy and still very well structured. The finish is long and leathery sweet. I'm in whisky heaven because this whisky offers me everything I want from a mature sherry malt with a first-class distillate. As I said, no outliers up or down, but still pure enjoyment and one of the best I've had this year.