This month we have selected eleven (11) PROVENANCE bottlings.

PROVENANCE Tasting Notes follow:

PRV0772 GLEN SPEY 9 YEARS
Opens fresh and clean on the nose running to a buttery vanilla’d quality – home baked style. The palate opens with a gristy sweet character and develops to a sweetly spiced fruit trait. All this concludes in a drier finish with an orange pith tang. (J)

PRV0763 ALLT A’BHAINNE SHERRY 11 YEARS
Massively sweet and honied on the nose plus barley gristiness and a jammy biscuit style. The palate is immediately fruit toffee sweet with a Scottish tablet extra sugariness – all leading to a finish now subtly spiced and gristy, which later replicates much of that fudge-y sweet/fruity palate. (F)

PRV0769 CRAGGANMORE 11 YEARS
Opens sweetly on the nose carrying a crushed sugar quality plus a soft malty style. The palate is sweet, softly spiced and develops to a fruity (pineapple) character. The finish remains unusually fresh, still lightly spiced, now with a late oak quality. (J)

PRV0757 FETTERCAIRN 11 YEARS
On the nose – detect sweet barley, honey, dried grass and a later squeezed citrus/barley sugar style. Palatewise the citrus and honey are apparent early – then praline, spices and cough drops feature – all followed by a sweet, fudgey and now mildly spiced finish. (F)

PRV0766 BENRINNES SHERRY 12 YEARS
The nose opens with a spicy, sweet butterscotch style that runs to flambee’d Christmas Pudding plus vanilla and golden syrup. The palate is oily and sweet, carrying a toffee quality with soft spices and honey. The finish remains surprisingly sweet, being still spicy with a light nutty style. (J)

PRV0770 CRAIGELLACHIE SHERRY 12 YEARS
Warmly spiced from the Sherry cask as it opens on the nose – it moves quickly onto macerated and alcohol marinated dark fruits – plus late toffee. Palatewise – the toffee dominates sweetly and roundly, building to citrus then to dark molasses and camphor. The finish combines spice – malt, muscavado sugar – dark fruits and vanilla. (F)

PRV0760 BLAIR ATHOL SHERRY 12 YEARS
Sweet, smooth, full, fruity, gristy, lightly spiced and subtly oaked – all on the nose. Detect on the palate an initial soft nuttiness which develops to sweet barely and interesting later warming spices – with those same spices more obvious now on the finish plus chewy vanilla toffee (F).

PRV0765 GLENGOYNE 12 YEARS
Fresh, clean, spiced, grassy and gristy on the nose till it opens further to soft vanilla sweet toffee. Palatewise it is initially barley sweet and chewy – still toffee’d, creamy, now with more spice on board – all of which runs to a finish which neatly replicates the palate. (F)

PRV0762 INCHGOWER SHERRY 12 YEARS
Opens with an earthy, rich quality plus sweet spices and a dry sherried character. The palate opens sweetly then runs to a drier, mouth coating character with caramelised nuts and chewy liquorice. The finish is medium long, lightly spiced (dry) and tails to a warming cough drop quality. (J)

PRV0756 SPEYSIDE 12 YEARS
Spicy, citric, and lightly smoked, with Scottish tablet and barley tones on the nose. Palatewise – it is now more sweetly spiced and chewy with honeyed cough drops and malt – all to the fore. It runs to a finish that exudes even more malt – distinct nuttiness and soft sweet spices. (F)

PRV0748 ARRAN 13 YEARS
On the nose detect a truly autumnal fruitiness and a wine gum back tone. Palatewise seek out a sweet barley character with honey and attractive vanilla flavours – all running long on the now drier and spiced finish. (F)

We hope your year end trading season has been good for you …. we thank you for business we have conducted together in the past and look forward to more in the future.

All best wishes for a wealthy and HEALTHY 2012!

Fred Laing
Managing Director

Visit Douglas Laing & Co at www.douglaslaing.com