This one was a clearance steal. List price $280. I got it for $80. Truth be told I would never pay $280 for a bottle, so I'd never have gotten to taste this without it on clearance, and I opened it on Christmas Eve with my brother-in-law. I've had the Aberfeldy 12 and it was decent enough, and while the 21 retains some of the 12's Highland character, this is a much more complex beast entirely. Nose is a bit earthy, has a bit of a vegetal mushroomy quality at first. My brother-in-law once described that as kind of like the herbal dressings they sometimes put on hoagies. It's a unique aroma that I believe is imparted by the red wine casks, as it has a similar character to the Jura 18, which is finished in Premier Grand Cru Classe Barriques. A little time in the glass and this resolves to blackberries with a nice creamy vanilla tone to it, and eventually there's something a little like a hint of lemon curd. On the palate the earthiness disappears and the berries and vanilla take over front and center. The mouthfeel is nice and thick and viscous with the vanilla notes giving it a creme brûlée flavoring, and it coats the tongue in a lovely way. Works well particularly with desert, as pairing it with gingerbread cookies on Christmas Eve made a nice treat. The finish is long and the sweetness lingers a bit before resolving to a dry red wine flavor showing at the last moment the malbec barrels' influence. Overall, I don't know how I'd feel if I did pay $280, would I like it less or would I be tying myself in knots trying to convince myself I like it better than I do? Doesn't matter, because I got this bottle at a $200 discount and for that, this is excellent stuff.