Nose - cereal grain, strawberry, raspberry, apricot, butterscotch, pecan, orange, vanilla, nutmeg, cocoa, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - raspberry, strawberry, bitter herbal notes, cherry, cereal grain, lemon pith, orange zest, vanilla, caramel, apple seed, allspice, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium short with jammy red fruit, bitter citrus, and cereal grain flavors. This one has received some recent attention here, so I thought it was time to throw my hat in the ring. First things first, I’ve never tasted pomegranate wine and don’t have much experience with the fruit in general. Oh man, this definitely lets you know it’s 60% ABV on the nose. I breathed in too deeply on the first nosing and had to catch my breath. It’s really grainy, but nice jammy fruits shine through, along with some butterscotch, baking spices, and hint of pecan nuttiness. There’s something slightly off about it too, not quite sulphuric, but maybe it’s a fungal note. Difficult to say. The palate brings the same heat and more jammy red fruits. There are some apple seed tannins and lemon pith bitterness leading to a short drying finish. This is a hard one. On one hand, there are some really nice red fruit notes, probably some of the best I’ve encountered on a wine finish. On the other hand, it’s super hot, grainy, bitter, and obviously young. Water helps a bit, but it also further exacerbates the graininess and thinness. More time in the barrel is desperately needed, and probably a lower bottling proof if the bitterness persists. Overall there’s a lot of potential here, but I just don’t think it’s quite ready for prime time. A big thank you to @PBMichiganWolverine for sharing! I’ll be very interested to try version 2.0 of this one.