Kavalan, a lot, Part Two


October 5, 2023

Kavalan, a lot, Part Two

Kavalan 2011/2021 (57.8%, OB, Port cask, cask #0111118054A, 186 bottles)

Kavalan 2011/2021 (57.8%, OB, Port cask, cask #O111118054A, 186 bottles)

This one was bottled for an impressive assembly of whisky specialists in Taiwan. Colour: dark reddish amber. Nose: once again its rather an old-PX-kind of ex-Port Kavalan, with few red berries if any, rather cold cuts, Parma ham, fat raisins, earth, mushrooms, walnut wine, earthy and slightly smoky old pu-her… With water: pipe tobacco, green walnuts, roasted pecans, bits of white asparagus (no sulphur), more potting soil, mushrooms, drop of soy sauce… Mouth (neat): high-power arrival, with a few pencil shavings at first, then pepper and nutmeg, then many raisins and a similar feeling of old PX, old VORS, dried figs… With water: these little cedar shavings again, but it really is perfect. More very old cream sherry, VORS… Finish: long, thick, spicy. We've all had a few bits of pipe tobacco in our mouths when we were young, haven't we. Comments: or chewing tobacco. Does that still exist, by the way?
SGP:661 - 88 points.

Kavalan 2010/2018 (57.8%, OB, Asia Palate Association, oloroso sherry cask, cask #S100309001A, 495 bottles)

Colour: office coffee. Nose: office coffee, I am not joking, plus a lot of potting soil and compost once more, walnut wine, Nescafé and cigars. Not much fruitiness in this one, but that's not an obligation. With water: a little steely, with old knives, old riffles, irons, old stove and all that. Not the first time we're finding this in an ex-oloroso. Mouth (neat): very punchy, ridden with old walnuts (we love them) and bitter coffee (love that too). There's a certain 'Jaeger' side too, with only much less sweetness. Artichoke liqueur. With water: bang, sultanas! It was about time. More roasted pecans too, caraway… Finish: very long, leafier again, with some umami and a clear glutamatey side. Comments: a lot of fun to be had from this dry baby. Some sides were clearly reminiscent of brandy de Jerez, only without all the sweetness.
SGP:462 - 89 points.

Kavalan 2011/2022 (56.3%, OB, for La Maison du Whisky, Antipodes, PX cask, cask #PX110218016B, 412 bottles)

Colour: dark amber. Nose: you would have believed this ex-Pedro would be much sweeter even on the nose, but that's not really the case, we're rather on dark chocolate, grenache, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (not obligatorily Rayas, mind you), morello cherries, coffee, amaretti… It's clearly got something Italian, and of course we shan't complain. With water: yesss. Pu-her and some marvellous touches of rubber and fumes. Nasty on the paper, fabulous in really life. Mouth (neat): hold on, this is massively classic. Sultanas, dried figs, dried dates, armagnac, prunes, chocolate… With water: exceptional. Best of Speysi… I mean Taiwan. I would have said middle-aged ex-great-sherry Glenfarclas, honestly (with due apologies to all brand owners). I fondly remember some 1988s and 1989s. Finish: long, perfect sherry and brandiness. Comments: I doubt any AI whisky will ever make them better than this. Well done LMDW, I'm sorry I've been late.
SGP:561 - 91 points.

Kavalan 2008/2019 (58.6%, OB, La Maison du Whisky and The Nectar, oloroso sherry cask, cask #S08121704A, 420 bottles)

Colour: mahogany. Nose: very earthy, almost smoky, pretty basaltic, rather on amontillado, I would say, with some pinewood smoke and a small glass of sloe gin. Naturally, old walnuts keep roaming the place too. With water: even earthier. Garden peat, nitrogen fertilizer, bouillons, ramen, Maggi… Mouth (neat): very thick, creamy, somewhat tarry, with a lot of cracked pepper and a feeling of 'chewing on your Cuban cigar'. With water: a tad sweeter, rather on dried figs, fruitcake, clove, 'vieille prune', and once again rustic old armagnac (the Ténarèze they keep for themselves). Finish: long. Comments: more glory. I tip my hat to you, Dr. Swan – And Ian Chang – and the folks at LMDW – and at The Nectar in Belgium. The Belgians are always part of the action, as we often noticed.
SGP:561 - 90 points.

Kavalan 2010/2018 (56.3%, OB, Moscatel sherry cask, cask #MO100625020A, 414 bottles)

I think we should expect some ueber-sweetness here. Colour: amber. Nose: not quite but indeed, it is one of the gentlest. Pear pie, tarte tatin, mirabelle jam and all that. Perhaps a little menthol in the background. This for sure is different. With water: a little earth, these typical whiffs of potting soil, which I find extremely 'Kavalan', some humus… Mouth (neat): this is almost a liqueur. Sweet white wines of all origins, not just moscatel from Jerez (or thereabouts), plus Peppermint Get, crème de menthe... With water: brings the tannins further out but other than that, it remains a sweet ballad. Finish: rather long, sweet, muscaty. No rose and lychees, having said that, phew. Comments: excellent but not my favourite, because of this sweetness. I'm not sure they ever filled a lot of Moscatel, have they?
SGP:741 - 84 points.

We're a little slow…

Kavalan 2009/2017 (58.6%, OB, for HNWS Taiwan, oloroso sherry butt, cask # S090608002A, 466 bottles)

In theory… Colour: chestnut stain, brown. Nose: walnuts and tobacco in full gown (what?), glutamate, plus crushed slate and even more garden soil. Whiff of hand cream, lady's moisturizer and all that in the distance. With water: porcinis with garlic and gravy, plus a little thyme tea, angelica, melissa... I'm not finding this one extremely oloroso-y. Mouth (neat): pepper, walnuts, marmalade; artichokes, eggplants, more pepper… With water: and walnuts. A little orangeade, Cointreau… indeed it got much sweeter as soon as water was added. Finish: not that long, sweeter yet, even more on triple-sec. Comments: to be honest, they are all very good and we end up splitting hairs. But that's the game and the fun of these very 'solo' sessions. A little sweet for an oloroso, but there…
SGP:651 - 86 points.

Kavalan 2010/2017 (58.6, OB, for Asia Palate Association, sherry butt, cask #S100309004A, 504 bottles)

They didn't say which kind of sherry it was. Colour: full mahogany. Nose: a new box of all-colour pencils by Caran d'Ache. You can hardly get more accurate than that, can you? Otherwise game, meatballs and gravies. With water: earths and teas of all kinds and from all continents. Mouth (neat): winner, even if it is a tad too potent. Raisins, oranges, teas and many aromatic herbs and spices. Touch of varnish too, for the better. With water: pine, menthol, camphor, caraway and clove popping out. Finish: long and wonderfully dry. Touch of walnut stain and other bitter things in the aftertaste. Extreme menthol and caraway. Comments: almost 91, only the slightly extreme finish brought us back to greater moderation. But what a massive drop!
SGP:572 - 90 points.

Long-time no virgin oak…

Kavalan 2006/2018 'Whisky Live Paris 2018' (59.4%, OB, virgin oak, cask #N06082847A, 89 bottles)

A tiny outturn but a great reputation (you're sounding like a two-penny brochure here, S.) Colour: reddish amber. Nose: the wood really feels. Cedarwood, rose petals, ylang-ylang, incense, jasmine, varnish… It is very spectacular, but I shall hold my horse. With water: sawn plywood and banana cake, plus even more incense. Mouth (neat): very heavy varnish, anything 'Pappy' will nose like Auchentoshan 10 years old by comparison. Huge notes of bananas. With water: very good, just a tad unnatural. Malt whisky made by an AI. Finish: long, aromatic, with some varnish and banana liqueur. Comments: I'm not quite sure what to say. Some aspects are very sexy, but there's a lab-whisky side that remains somewhat unpleasant to me. Like some made-up 'mizunaras'. What can I say? I'm sure some friends will have had a crush on this one.
SGP:761 - 83 points.

In the olden days, distillers were saying that you just cannot use virgin oak. Anyway…

Kavalan 2012/2018 (59.4%, OB, Vinho Barrique, cask #W120120044A, 187 bottles)

Our dear 'Vinhos' are back on the desk. What are they?… Colour: orange amber. Nose: fudge, fudge, fudge, fudge and toffee. Plus mothballs, roasted peanuts, patchouli and rosehip tea. Something else… With water: burnt cake, croissants, cinnamon rolls… That's the oak. Mouth (neat): ginger tonic and bitter oranges, bitters, Campari, gin… What's this 'Vinho'? With water: litres of triple-sec, some bananas and custard from the wood, more cakes, sweet spices, even a touch of mustard, ginger cookies, Aperol… A pretty mish-mash for sure. Finish: rather long, rather cask-and-wood-driven. Spice liqueurs, amaro… Comments: very good, it's just not easy to categorize. Malt? Bourbon? Genever? it's got the entire inventory of a mixologist in there.
SGP:561 - 87 points.