I don't often buy a backup bottle of anything, especially something at these prices points, but this one was a no brainer. Nose - Berries, figs, raisins, I get an almost deep mix of grape medicine and just grape juice, there's a salty brine, light alcohol notes. I really get this dessert wine meets a savory element thing going on. Really outstanding nose. Taste - this is springbank's malt but it is being hit with this huge really fresh fruit sherry note. No vanillas like I tend to get, it isn't overly funky or musty though there might be a bit of sulfur (I'm not sensitive so it's harder for me to pick that out.) The finish however is lightly peated, savory, has a really nice quality oak note, and just has this old whisky lingering feeling that I normally won't get on a whisky this young. This has me thinking about the Glengoyne 25 year I recently reviewed and i think it is about as perfect an expression of a classic sherry bomb as their is. The problem with that whisky is that it's really just a showcase of those fine european oak barrels, the natural malt is really been over powered and sent home and while you get some nice oak spices, the oak even feels like it was likely a second class citizen. I love all that, but it left me with a 4.0 score because it wasn't that complex. Here the springbank malt just can't be over powered easily. You still get that light peat and salt, you maybe no longer get the "funk" as it were, but you get springbank character on the finish, the oak barrels even seem to be contributing beyond their sherry and really giving a nice oak flavor at the end. This is an all time great dram. Small issues. 1. It's a bit too dry. Not a shocker with this age, abv, and first fill sherry casks. 2. I could see many wanting more dessert or more of an earthy bitter note, perhaps a refill sherry butt would help some, I'm not sure what they would need to make springbank's malt into a dessert. 3. There's a lot of stuff floating in the bottle and by the end of it, it kinda gets off putting (this is my second bottle). I'm not all about filtering and even like some raw casks but the sediment here isn't a winner for me. 4.5 - if you see a springbank fresh sherry, even if not cask strength, you will not be disappointed (and another fresh sherry bottle is going to be reviewed).