Whisky Intelligence has reproduced (with permission) The Gauntleys Whisky Newsletter for June 2004; a small sample of scotch whisky archeology. The author, Chris Goodrum, has some excellent insights of whisky, which makes for excellent reading on a Sunday. However as you may have noticed we are nearing the end of the series of his excellent newsletters. Enjoy this one !
Dear Whisky Customers
Welcome to this current newsletter. So what’s in this newsletter? Firstly I have a soap box to get on…….
COMMENT
I like the whisky magazine, really I do, and normally top 10 whisky lists produced by Dave Broom et all are just a bit of fun. But their latest list of the 90 top Distillery bottled Scotch Whiskies that appears in the latest edition of the magazine, well, left me scratching my head in disbelief.
Ok I know what you are thinking I’m just miffed that the Bruichladdich 20 year old only just scrapped in at number 89, but that is not my main gripe. However if you are going to tell me that the 10 year old Glenmorangie (No 77) and the 12 year old Craggenmore (No 26) are better whiskies, then I’m surprised to say the least.
No, my biggest problem with this list is that In my opinion you must have a level playing field, you should only compare like with like, ie 10 year old versus 10 year old, or by retail price. The only good reason for a list of this type is to fill their letters pages with “why wasn’t my favourite malt in the list” letters.
And what was the No1 malt I hear you ask. Springbank? Talisker? Ardbeg?. No it was the 18 year old Macallan – Really?! And with 4 entries in the top ten it, according to the magazine it cements its place at the top of the Premier League of Whisky distillers. Hmmm, call me cynical, but doesn’t this just give credence to their continued churning out of limited edition bottlings with inflated price tags, that only a handful of very wealthy and/or privileged few will ever get the chance to taste. I mean what was the point of including the 50 year old Millennium bottling in the list.
Ok rant over, here’s what’s been happening in Gauntleys world of whiskies….
BRUICHLADDICH
Just released is the second bottling in their Links Series. The ’16th Hole Augusta’ is a 100% Refill Sherry matured 14 year old. Retailing for £36.95. Limited to 18,000 bottles world wide it is a lovely, fresh, crisp, floral nose similar to the 10 year old with the addition of a subtle sherry background. Unmistakably Laddie with honeysuckle, apples, pear, salt and a whiff of creamy bourbon. First up on the palatte is the subtle sherry fruit, then that saline Laddie freshness, citrus, oil, bourbon and lashings of spice. Tangy and long with hints of digestives, finishing with a salty flourish.
Also I was privileged to taste their two peated malts the Port Charlotte and the Octavulin. As these two malts were only distilled last year, they won’t be commercially available until at least 2013, by which time it will be interesting to see what level of complexity the oak adds to them. So for nothing other than curiosity value here are my tasting notes.
Port Charlotte (Distilled 15/10/03, sample drawn 5/5/04)
As expected it had that ‘straight off the still’ pungency with quite a lot of smoky-peat flavours, yet beneath this there was an underlying fruitiness – apples, honeysuckle, all that you would expect from Bruichladdich. A drop of water brought forward its natural oils and smoothness, while subduing its peatiness. I think I can see this being similar to the Bruichladdich links, in so far as it will be a classic Bruichladdich but with a back drop of gentle smoke/peat.
Octavulin (Distilled 7/11/03, sample drawn 5/5/04)
Whoar, this is an all together different animal. Very complex even at this young stage. It is deeper, more intense and oiler than the Port Charlotte. It has a remarkable cereal sweetness and huge globs of earthy-peat, soil and dunnage floors. Fat and rounded but still with that characteristic Bruichladdich delicacy. A small drop of water brings out its animal/ farmyard nuances and tames the peat, making it more earthy in character. The finish is stunning, it last and lasts. Once this had had a bit of oak influence it is going to be a storming malt – Can’t wait!
JOHN McDOUGALL
I have had the opportunity to taste the new additions to the Golden Cask series that I mentioned in my last newsletter, which appear below. Also and here is the good bit we have decided to offer a discount to our whisky customers to support the launch of these fantastic new malts, details of which again are below.
SPEYSIDE
Aultmore 1989 58.3% – Special Price £38.95 saving £3.00
(Cask 3076 filled 21/09/89 – 14 year old)
A lovely, soft, cereal, earthy nose with hints of peat, biscuity fruit and salt. Aromatic with a developing floral character – white flowers, honeysuckle. The palate has elegance, purity and a wealth of biscuity white fruits, tangy acidity & spice notes. Complex and serious with an earthy/ smoky character and a long, dry finish.
Tomintoul 1992 63.5% – Special Price £35.95 saving £2.00
(Cask 3058 filled 20/5/92 – 11 year old)
Superb complexity on the nose. Intense grassy and earthy initially. Next up comes bourbon, toffee, caramel and sweetish malt, with a delightful floral edge. On the palate it is smooth yet intense. The flavour build on the tongue. Cereal, wheat, grass and fruit. Wow, this is stunning. The middle displays a huge depth of sweet malt with the ever present cereal nuances, and finally the bourbon arrives on the finish. I certainly wasn’t expecting a malt of such complexity.
HIGHLAND
Glen Moray 1990 62.1% – Special Price £39.95 saving £2.00
(Cask 4561 filled 15/5/90 – 13 year old)
Quite a lively, soft, earthy, summery apricot fruit scented bouquet. Lots of earthiness, a touch waxy and subtle Bourbon oak (much less than on the previous bottling). Luxuriously smooth and complex on the palate, full of rich apricot fruit, earth, cereal, fudge and restrained Bourbon oak. Adding a touch of water reveals hidden dimensions to this glorious malt, emphasising its apricot and yellow fruit and brining out the most glorious perfume hints on the nose. I loved the earlier bottling of this malt, but this is even better.
Macallan 1989 57.1% – Special Price £38.95 saving £2.00
(Cask 2810 filled 23/2/89 – 13 year old)
I do like Macallan, my earlier comments have nothing to do with the quality of their malt, but rather their marketing/ cost. That is why I am always interested in private bottler’s versions because they offer such better value for money and this one doesn’t disappoint.
Powerfull, big, characterful and aromatic, with a huge amount of oily/ waxy orange fruit aromas to the fore. Stunning depth and purity, with a background of earthy, delicate sherry and a vague whiff of Bourbon oak. The palate is oily, rich and smooth. Very complex, very long, with a mouth wateringly intense middle and finish. Water brings out the spiciness and earthiness of the orange fruit and adds a lovely creaminess to it character. Absolutely superb.
LOWLAND
Bladnoch 1988 56.4% – Special Price £41.95 saving £3.00
(Cask 2644 15 year old)
John has selected a rather fantastic cask from Raymond Armstrong. Floral and delicate with a depth of citrus – orange, lemon and lime fruit with a hint of Bourbon. Smooth, fruity and earthy with a delightful soft creaminess. Water emphasises the oak and brings out straw, perfume, oriental spice, white peach notes. Superb complexity with a nice cereal sweetness overall.
ISLAY
Caol Ila 1991 59% – Special Price £43.95 saving £3.00
(Cask 13197 filled 18/9/91 – 12 year old)
And saving the best until last. This Caol Ila provides on hell of a wake up to the senses. Big and phenolic, with medicinal peat, iodine, tar, rope and pungent, oily citrus fruit. Damn this is good (written several times in my initial tasting notes!) There is absolutely no let up in the intensity on the palate – earthy, medicinal peat, plus an ‘off the still’ pungency. Without water it is an almost painfully overwhelming expeirience, yet as it fades into a charcoal fruitiness I can’t help thinking:
Damn, you’ve been Islay’d
AND SPRINGBANK (er sort of!)
As you are all now well aware of, a whisky newsletter just isn’t complete without Springbank cropping up in it. On Thursday 25 March saw the opening of the refurbished Glengyle Distillery, the first new distillery to be opened in Campbelltown for over a century.
Glengyle distillery was closed in 1925 and after various false starts to revive the plant from outside investors, J&A Mitchell & Co Ltd bought the empty, dilapidated buildings in November 2000. Around 60,000 litres of spirit will be produced this Spring season using floor-malted barley from the Springbank distillery. The spirit after maturation, will be bottled as a Campbeltown Malt called Kilkerran, which is derived from the original Gaelic name for the area of Campbeltown.
CONTACT
We would welcome any comments you would like to make about this newsletter, any of our products, or how we can improve our service. Please note that any comments in this newsletter are attributed to the author and not necessarily the views of Gauntleys of Nottingham. Please feel free to contact us on rhone@gauntleywine.com
Sincerely
Chris Goodrum
Visit Gauntleys of Nottingham at http://www.gauntley-wine.co.uk/
