The nose smells of sweet wine mixed nicely with charred oak with hints of raisins, leather, vanilla, molasses and grainy notes that come across as being rich. The palate starts soft but quickly fills the mouth with black pepper and cinnamon while sweet wine stays mostly to the front of the mouth but now comes across as being somewhat astringent. It quickly softens even more as by the next sip the spice isn't too intense. The rest of the palate falls a little flat as there are some hints of sweet molasses, vanilla and raisins, it is very gentle and easy to miss. The finish is medium and this is where the whiskey shows it's youth. The palate fades into being grassy though there is still touches of vanilla and oak behind it, albeit you have to go looking for it. This whiskey could benefit from some more aging and added complexity as the madeira finish is there, but the whiskey it started with isn't too memorable.