My second tasting of this was much better than the first. The first time I didn't get much other than oak. But on subsequent tastings it seemed to have settled down and I got big cherry notes on the pallet and not much bitterness from the barrel. I dig it and find it tough to rate. It's somewhere between a 3.75 and 3.5 for me but at the moment I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt and going with a 3.75. Maybe later tastings will change that.