I couldn't disagree more. There is an obvious risk with one of the Master's epic anagrams that - once cracked - it provides a lot of crossing letters for the remaining clues. But the quality of this Aracauriagram was up to his highest standard. 34 letters, all drawn from a phrase that was a pretty good summary of the source work. (For those who haven't seen the puzzle the answer was the last couplet from Milton's "Lycidas", a poem of mourning for the death of a friend.) And the misdirection of the definition part "A Sherpherd's Farewell" was classic stuff too. A perfectly fair definition - the quotation is the parting words of an imagined shepherd - but, of course, it points you unerringly towards the famous chorale from L'Enfance du Christ by Berlioz; entirely the wrong way!
Along with that there was plenty of his cheeky humour - or should that be humorous cheek? If I can solve crosswords of this standard at his age - much less set them! - I'll be a happy man.