So this appears to have been aged in in American white oak ex-Bourbon barrels before being divided between five red wine casks: Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to then age for a further 5 years, then bottled at 45%. Apparently Richard Patterson has a passion for wine, but I don’t think this blend makes any sense outside of talking about how many wines you crammed into a whisky. I asked my wife to utilize her WSET Level 3 certificate to explain why someone would create a wine blend with all those grapes and she was stumped. Alas, Sir Richard Patterson show me your expert skills and make me a believer in this one. The nose starts with old oak front and center with the wine casks bringing some baked sour berries and a dusting of powdered sugar to keep everything in check before a creamy milk chocolate with toasted nuts that quickly leans towards a fruit salad of citrus, musty grapes and dark berries that transitions to a vintage antique leather wrapped armchair with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with old oak, moderately soured baked dark berries and a powdered sugar sweetness that quickly veers toward a high bitter, sour and drying earthy spice that eventually fades to dark chocolate orange, blackberry jam and sour cherries that transition to dusty old attic floors with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with a high bitter ashy oak, fruits of some light citrus and berry notes and dark chocolate. The nose was so promising with a balance of old oak, dark berries, citrus, and light sweetness, but the taste went from an enjoyable oaky berry pie to really just a high bitter sour mix that ruined the balance before fading to chocolate and fruits before finishing medium length with chalky ash and light fruits in the background. Overall, this is still a fairly enjoyable dram that I wish had a better balance without those overpowering high bitter flavors that prevented those dark berry flavors and old oak from really coming together well. Side by side with my Springbank 12 Batch 21 that has some ex-Burgundy and ex-Port cask influence, the Springbank delivers those rich berry flavors from the wine casks in a far better structured and balanced experience. This in no way deserves the $1k+ price tag and there are plenty of other options out there to provide a better whisky experience for far less.