Boundary Bay Oak-Aged Old Bounder

2006 Vintage. Toasted French oak.
Gorgeous amber-red colour. Sugary-vanilla overtones on the nose, under which a rich caramelly and subtlely fruit barley wine lies. Snappy taste - incredibly rich malts in the earthy-toffeeish vein meld very well with masculine oaky notes, hints of vanilla and even hints of bacterial tartness. This is what I want in a BA brew - a gorgeous accent rather than an overwhelming dominance of barrel, something that adds to the existing beer and takes it to new levels rather than crushing the poor palate into submission.