Balblair NAS 2000 (43%, OB, 2010)

A brand new bottling due to be released into the UK market (Please see the press release above for full details). Quite pale in colour however the nose is quite the opposite with some vibrant and slightly aggressive malt backed by citrus and green apples followed by different malt style which is quite sweet and honeyed. Also some cut grass and black pepper. After some time in the glass it starts to open up and the sweetness changes to brown sugar but still the fruit is present along with some hints of leather. Sour cherries tussle with the malt. What an excellent collection of aromas, they work very well together. The taste is quite different from the nose (at first) but still strong with lots more emphasis on the malt and the oak/wood spice notes; the leather (and now tobacco) is more evident and the fruit has taken a back seat. It’s delicious. Perhaps now some toasted malt and crusty bread. After a short while some of the fruit (sour cherries & green apples) peak back from behind the curtain. The finish is malty leather and slight tobacco followed by more malt and it’s very nice, VERY long, slightly warming and then all of a sudden the fruit returns. After a few minutes the malt is the dominant characteristic and it’s still very good. Quite sensational actually.

What a grand dram, well done!

£32

88 points