Long time no Tamnavulin


December 8, 2023

Long time no Tamnavulin

Mind you, I've formally tried 25 Tamnavulins within our many years of Whiskyfun, that's barely one Tamnavulin per year. It's true that it's a fairly 'new' distillery (youngsters will laugh) as it was only built in 1966 to produce a main component for Whyte & Mackay. It's been kind of relaunched as a single malt pretty recently but the newest owners seem to have believed that it was a good idea to do a whole series of table wine finishes. Let's check that and see if we can also find a clean one…

It is believed that it was Charlemagne who first planted Pinot Noir / Spätburgunder in current Germany, actually in Rheingau (portrait by Dürer, Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg)

Tamnavulin 'White Wine Cask Edition' (40%, OB, Sauvignon Blanc, 2022)

I love the whiskies that display notes of sauvignon blanc, but that doesn't mean that I'm expecting some distillers to add some straight to the whiskies. NAS, sauvignon (without even knowing about its origin) and 40% vol., I can't see what could go wrong. Seriously, you never know, while the price cannot be fairer (approx. 26€)… Colour: straw. Nose: ah well, this seems to work, with these notes of granny smith and greengages upfront, then green bananas, nectarines and maybe a few rose petals and acacia blossom. Turkish delights aren't far away… You would believe this is a nice young 1970s Lowlander. Mouth: absolutely, no quibble, no complaints, this is a good fresh young malt that keeps its promises. So… a young fresh Sancerre, with white peaches, honeysuckle, pomelo, Crenshaw melon, elderflower syrup, and even a little celery. Finish: not that long but neither thin nor weak, with lemon drops and sweet lime. Fruit bonbons in the aftertaste, perhaps a little too sweet now. Comments: this is perfectly all right. God knows I was expecting much worse but remember I had only tried 25 Tamnavulins until today.
SGP:640 - 83 points.

Tamnavulin 'Red Wine Cask Edition No.3' (40%, OB, German Pinot Noir, 2020)

What is German Pinot Noir? Why don't they call it Spätburgunder since they have a name for their very excellent PNs? Granted, it's the same varietal, let's not be overly picky (we're never overly picky, are we). But would you call bubbly from Sonoma 'Californian Champagne'? Hold on… Colour: apricot. Nose: once again, no straight cassis or cherry bomb here, it's been rather well mastered, it does not nose like an old bachelor's jam or liqueur. Having said, you could have believed you were having a cherry clafoutis under your nose, plus a cup of thyme and menthol tea. That's good for our bronchial tubes (not the clafoutis). Mouth: nah, not quite, dissonances appear now, tomato leaves, cassis leaves and buds, capsicum, plus candied cherries indeed, drops of Heering… It is really pretty premixy. Pass. Finish: sweet. Bonbons and bubblegum. Comments: absolutely not a disaster but I do not fancy these very hybrid palates.
SGP:751 - 75 points.

Bah there's more and more hybrid whisky around anyway… I'm meaning whiskies that borrow a significant part of their aromas and flavours from other drinks, wines, beers, other spirits…. But let us move on, if you please…

Tamnavulin 'Oloroso Cask Edition' (40%, OB, 2021)

Another NAS finishing at 40% vol., but in oloroso we trust. Colour: gold. Nose: sweet nut cakes and tart, praline, butterscotch, shortbread, earl grey, raspberry muffins, plus indeed a little walnut wine but I'm not finding it particularly oloroso-y on the nose. I would have thought Pedro. Mouth: really fine, once again not that thin despite the low, slightly stingy ABV (come on even on Planet Mars they know it's the legal minimum) and rather on apple pies and fruitcakes, toffee apples, touch of pancake sauce... It's not high-def sherried malt but it's pleasant. Finish: very short this time, with notes of sweetened beer (that Kriek beer that we keep mentioning for no particular reasons). Comments: the (relative) tour de force was rather the Sauvignon Blanc.
SGP:651 - 79 points.

Can we have a Tamnavulin 'Tamnavulin Edition' please? Let's ask the indies…

Tamnavulin 6 yo 2016/2023 (50%, Claxton's Exploration Series, Ruby Port hogshead)

No luck, this young baby was boosted in ruby Port, as it appears. Ruby Port was all the rage in 2022 and 2023, let's see what 2024 will bring. My money is on Recioto or Tokaji Aszù. Colour: garnet red (for fun). Nose: pastries full of buttercream, strawberries in all their guises, gingerbread, mulled red wine, Sachertorte and fifty cinnamon rolls. After all, it will soon be Christmas. It really smells of an Xmas liqueur rather than whisky, but it is pretty joyful. Water unnecessary. Mouth: peppered strawberry cake, carrot cake and zwetschke tart with tons of cinnamon drizzle. With water: water brings out a little maltiness – remember this is malt whisky! Sweet stout. Finish: rather long, with more strawberry jam and cinnamon, plus rosehip tea. Comments: hyper-hybrid drink and total winesky, but with some pleasant aspects.
SGP:741 - 76 points.

Let's insist, can't we have a Tamnavulin 'Tamnavulin Edition'? There, just ask…

Tamnavulin 2009/2023 (54.8%, Malt Universe, China, hogshead, cask #4504, 313 bottles)

It's quite mad that one has to go all the way to Guangzhou in China to find a natural, well-aged Tamnavulin! Now one doesn't need much convincing to go to Guangzhou... Colour: white wine. Nose: high-precision, crystal-clear fresh and tight malt whisky on apples, greener melons (honeydew, perhaps casaba) and white flowers, acacia… Then vivid whiffs of crushed slate. With water: more of that slate, some clay, some chalk, otherwise some carrot juice. Mouth (neat): exactly a clean, fresh and fruity Speysider, almost totally on fresh green and white fruits. Green melons again, custard apples, gooseberries, green bananas, apples once more, also mulberries, and a little cane syrup drizzled over this lovely fruit salad. With water: no real changes… Finish: medium, clean, fruity, easy yet firm and compact. So, lovely. Comments: It might not be the kind of whisky that makes your head spin 360 degrees (you might say that's for the best), but it remains perfect, in the purest sense of the word perfect (oh really, what's that, S.?)
SGP:651 - 87 points.

'Mission accomplished.'

Check the index of all Tamnavulin we've tasted so far