32 Caol Ila, part four


May 28, 2024

Caol Ila part four and last

As long as we're in the groove…

Caol Ila 13 yo 2008/2022 (51%, Or Sileis, Amarone finish, cask #9068, 210 bottles)

Oh, Amarone! I'll have a Calzone and a tiramisu, please, mister waiter… Colour: apricot. Nose: it's massive. Loads of toasted wood and cherry liqueur, plus fig leaves and a very vegetal smoke. It's quite extreme, but then again, with Amarone, one should have expected that. With water: rather better, on cedarwood, spruce, leather, and a hint of baked aubergine. Mouth (neat): harsh. Bitter cherry and black pepper. With water: the bitterness remains. Strongly infused black tea and still plenty of pepper. Finish: long, bitter, more amaro than Amarone (good one, well done, S.) Comments: well, that was our aperitif of the day (S., Amarone as an aperitif!?). I love the malts from Or Sileis in Taiwan, but this one was truly extreme. Amarone!
SGP:377 - 78 points.

We'll get back on track with the help of Palo Cortado…

Caol Ila 10 yo 2013/2023 (56.1%, James Eadie, for the UK, refill Palo Cortado hogshead finish, cask #306696, 315 bottles)

A nine-month finish. Remember, a Palo Cortado is a fino that's lost its flor/veil. It's not that far from amontillado, but the latter has usually kept its flor for much longer (as I understand it). Love both. Colour: white wine. Nose: it's taut, salty, chalky, and green apple-y. It's very beautiful, I find. With water: really like wet chalk, we love that, it feels like being in the Loire or Champagne. Mouth (neat): perfect, it doesn't exactly feel like a simple finishing. Salty notes, lemon, apple, green walnut, clay, green pepper. Nothing to complain about. With water: some touches of olives and pickles as well. Even better! Finish: long and very precise for a finishing. Comments: really superb. Are we sure this is just a finishing?
SGP:567 - 88 points.

So, who was talking about amontillado?

Caol Ila 10 yo 2013/2023 (55.3%, James Eadie, refill Amontillado hogshead finish, ask #306695, 306 bottles)

Nine months too. No need to explain the difference between Amontillado and Palo Cortado again, right? And will it make a difference in a young Caol Ila? Colour: white wine. Nose: it's more on the nutty side, indeed, with a more oloroso-like character, some bitter chocolate, mustard… But it remains salty, vibrant, and very pleasant. With water: very nice but less coastal, more lifted, fresh... Mouth (neat): very good, lemony, chocolaty, with a touch of lavender and a slight note of grenadine – but where does that come from? With water: a bit of cold coffee this time. Clove, a bit of zest, still some bitter chocolate... Finish: long, with a return of the old walnuts. Comments: excellent, it's just that I should have tried this one before the rather fabulous Palo Cortado.
SGP:557 - 86 points.

Caol Ila 12 yo 2011/2023 (58.1%, Signatory Vintage for Whisky Bibliothek, bourbon barrel, cask #310863, 200 bottles)

Here we are back in Switzerland – and in Pitlochry, where they serve top Amarone, believe it or not. Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: immaculate, simple, straightforward. Green apples, langoustines, ashes, wet chalk. You can swap the langoustines for grey shrimp from the Belgian coast. With water: wood glue, lime, oysters from Loch Gruinart (to keep it local – not Swiss, mind you). Mouth (neat): a very powerful, salty, and smoky lemon. I'm not sure it should be tasted in this state. With water: there you go, high-precision chalkiness, saltiness, and lemon. A slight medicinal touch as well. Finish: long, like a true blade. Lemon, chalk, peat. Comments: it's almost in the realm of white rums (pot still and/or cane juice) or mezcals, just a bit softer. We can only think highly of it; it's a top distillate. A slight resemblance to young Lagavulin.
SGP:566 - 88 points.

Caol Ila 9 yo 2014/2023 (52.9%, Murray McDavid, Benchmark, Whisky in Leiden, Sauternes cask finish, 163 bottles)

MMcD and their finishings… A love story. This Caol Ila comes straight from the Netherlands. Colour: gold. Nose: as we've said several times before, peat and Sauternes work if the proportions are respected. Still, I imagine all the old retired winemakers who probably don't even know their wines now end up this way… Very ripe apricots, quince, ashes, green pepper. It works. With water: the green pepper comes out, which is a bit less pleasant. Wet clay, that's nice. Mouth (neat): no problem, it's very good, these young Caol Ilas are powerful enough to resist the Sauternes when the atter's a bit boisterous. Even if we can't say it's a perfect harmony, it drinks very well, even if it becomes green and very spicy, perhaps due to the use of French oak. With water: rebalancing in progress, but the greenness remains. Finish: long, even more herbaceous. The sweet side of the Sauternes returns in the aftertaste. Comments: a bit of a cat-and-mouse game in this very young Caol Ila.
SGP:556 - 83 points.

Another 9 yo…

Caol Ila 9 yo 2014/2023 (56.7%, The Collaboration, Whisky Shop Neumarkt, refill hogshead, cask #COLC101, 296 bottles)

Back to Switzerland for a young Caol Ila, likely much more natural. Couldn't they do a Rivella finish? Reto? Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one is oilier, with notes of sunflower oil, more paraffin, and since we're near the Alps, some mountain herbs. Including gentian, of course. The rest is classic: peat, oysters, ashes, a bit of vanilla… With water: pure young Caol Ila. No debate. Mouth (neat): powerful yet fresh, very lemony and very salty. Little lemons in brine and cigar ash. Oysters from the lake (yes, indeed…). With water: this is truly perfect young Caol Ila. No improbable wine getting in its way. Finish: a certain greenness, very taut. Green asparagus, perhaps. In any case, it's perfect, with these touches of butterscotch and amaretti in the aftertaste. Comments: not much to add, a little hogshead that did a super job.
SGP:557 - 88 points.

Perhaps one that's a little older…

Caol Ila 15 yo 2007/2023 (53.4%, Valinch & Mallet, sherry bota punta, cask #07322, 485 bottles)

Awesome art on the label, by Giuliano Sole (CRAG Gallery). A bota is a butt, obviously, and it seems this was a genuine very old solera cask. Colour: honey amber. Nose: it's a blend of honey, dried apricot, fairly discreet smoke, and blond tobacco, with an elegant salinity that asserts itself. It's a magnificent nose, not easy to describe. Old beeswax and figs. Very beautiful. With water: humus, pipe tobacco, oyster sauce, and above all, a lot of umami. Mouth (neat): magnificent old-style sherry. Sublime old walnuts, liquorice, touches of brandy, Corinthian raisins… This is definitely not a 'sherry' doctored in a 'whisky' bodega, not even a very commendable one – many are. With water: perfection. Walnut liqueur, seawater, miso soup, very dark raisins… Finish: alas! Comments: it speaks volumes and speaks loudly. I noticed it was bottled in 2023, but seriously, I would have guessed around 1985. This Caol Ila from a perfectly mature sherry cask is simply crazy.
SGP:567 - 91 points.

Of course, authentic solera casks have a great reputation and are very rare in whisky making, but the Scots also know that they are quite unpredictable. In other words, during maturation, they may take the lead, no matter what you do. Right, let's move on…

Caol Ila 36 yo 1984/2021 (53.9%, Gordon & MacPhail, Private Collection, refill American hogshead, cask #3629, 177 bottles)

Wow, thirty-six years old, but we know that Caol Ila swallows the years like others do daiquiris, without wavering or faltering. Colour: gold. Nose: my God, the mirabelle plums! And the fir honey, gentle camphor, wild guava, milk chocolate from a grand Parisian house (or Swiss, or Belgian, or New York, or Tokyo… Take your pick). And we love these whiffs of church candles, it's our religious side. With water: beeswax, varnishes, then a certain greenness, with a very slight grassy and freshly cut hay aspect. Or grand green tea, you're right. Mouth (neat): sublime herbs, honeys, waxes, soft brines, equally soft olive oils (Provençal), then green apples, even greengages, with touches of metal polish. How has this beauty never crossed our path until now? With water: we bow down. Oils, waxes, varnishes, perhaps some slightly too herbal and resinous notes, but it remains sublime. Why keep fighting it? Finish: indeed, we surrender, as all the little signs of age emerge gracefully. A bit of cardboard, old sawdust, slightly faded waxes, slightly stale beer… All of this is so charming. Old mint liqueur in the aftertaste, an ideal finish. Gentle peat. Comments: marvellous. The attacks, in particular, are sublime. We're flirting with 93 points here.
SGP:565 - 92 points.

How about we quickly dive into another 1984? It almost feels like 1984 was a great vintage only for Caol Ila. And perhaps for Haut-Brion (there's still some left in the WF Cellars)… Oh and HP.

Caol Ila 35 yo 1984/2020 (47.5%, Golden Cask, bourbon barrel, cask #CM 260, 204 bottles)

The improbability, or unlikeliness of this bottling is quite evident, but these kinds of bottles often have reputations that precede them (but what does that mean, S.?). Colour: pale gold. Nose: obviously zero vinous impact, one hundred percent malty and peaty barley, plus a myriad of micro-aromas, focusing on oils (sesame, sunflower, grape pips) and white, yellow, and green fruits. Gooseberries, greengages, yellow melon, nectarines… then buttery croissants and shortbread, plain or lemon, and candle wax. There's a certain austere beauty here. Mouth: boom, the peat leaps out, with lemon and seawater. This displays the main characteristic of Caol Ila, as we said and wrote before, in our opinion, this baby could just as well be 15 or 25 years old. Or 45. A petrolic and Riesling-like side that is highly pleasing (polish, rhubarb). Finish: medium length but perfect precision. Touches of grapefruit, tar, shellfish… And honey and mead in the aftertaste. The nectar of the gods. Comments: just perfect, even if G&M's continues to set the standard.
SGP:566 - 91 points.

I know, we're already at 9. One more and we'll declare this Caol Ila session finished. Happy Feis Ile everyone!

Caol Ila 24 yo 1974/1998 (46%, Wilson & Morgan, Barrel Selection)

I remember that time very well when, visiting Italy, we'd find these bottles in fine grocery stores, nestled among extraordinary hams and jars of porcini mushrooms. And pasta, of course. Plus, the folks at W&M are delightful (cheers, Fabio), so I don't see how this could go wrong. Oh, and we love these civilised 46% vol. And 1974 is also the year of Rock 'n' Roll Animal. Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: forget it, it's perfect. Gentle brine, ashes, green apple, face creams, and vintage sun lotion (shea, monoi, coconut butter and all that). It's splendid but also quite nostalgic. Mouth: it has gained a lot of salty smoothness and ashy complexity since it was bottled. I remember, I had a bottle (Requiescat in pace). Finish: very good length, salty and oily complexity. A touch of fish oil. Comments: so, I've tasted this before, but that was over twenty years ago. Everything changes, including us, my friend.
SGP:555 - 91 points.

I almost feel like ending this Caol Ila cavalcade with a young one that's just been released, what do you think? Anyway, let me remind you that Caol Ila never ages; that's a new theorem.

Caol Ila 10 yo 2013/2024 (57.8%, James Eadie, for Italy, refill hogshead, cask #306690, 338 bottles)

See, they don't just do finishings. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: but yes, of course, it's perfect. Many official bottlings tend to have more wood, more vanilla, whereas here we are in the absolute purity of the distillate, even if the cask hasn't been inactive. Seawater, apple liqueur, cider and ale, ashes. Perfectly perfect. It's almost boring how perfect it is (just kidding!). With water: fresh paint and ink. New magazine. Mouth (neat): perfect and total impact. Green pepper, ash, dry white wine, lime juice, varnish, cider, green walnut, sea salt, sunflower oil. With water: lemon juice, apple juice, brine, ashes, smoked fish, oysters. Finish: long, fairly oily, but precise, salty, smoky, with notes of bitter almonds. Comments: it's very beautiful. Caol Ila is a new make factory, but frankly, the juice is magnificent. One of the best Scottish distillates at present, how could one not buy a few bottles/magnums/pallets/casks of this magnificent 'industrial' juice?
SGP:667 - 88 points.

Thirty-two Caol Ilas in four sessions, those are good numbers. Shall we put together a little ranking? Anyway, it's the trend these days, no one publishes any content without adding a ranking—top cars, politicians, helicopters, cities in Italy, marijuana, Netflix series, gypsy guitarists, woollen underpants, assault rifles, distilleries…

95/100
Caol Ila 15 yo (65.3%, Sestante, 75cl, +/-1985)

92/100
Caol Ila 30 yo 1991/2021 (48.4%, Douglas Laing, Xtra Old Particular, Black series, sherry hogshead, cask #DL 15245, 190 bottles)
Caol Ila 36 yo 1984/2021 (53.9%, Gordon & MacPhail, Private Collection, refill American hogshead, cask #3629, 177 bottles)

91/100
Caol Ila 15 yo 2007/2023 (53.4%, Valinch & Mallet, sherry bota punta, cask #07322, 485 bottles)
Caol Ila 24 yo 1974/1998 (46%, Wilson & Morgan, Barrel Selection)
Caol Ila 35 yo 1984/2020 (47.5%, Golden Cask, bourbon barrel, cask #CM 260, 204 bottles)

90/100
Caol Ila 10 yo 2012/2023 (55.8%, Hogshead Imports, 1st fill Caroni barrel, 44 bottles)
Caol Ila 24 yo '175th Anniversary' (52.1%, OB, 3,000 bottles, 2021)
Caol Ila 33 yo (44.5%, Hunter Laing, The Kinship, cask #HL20647, 300 bottles, 2023)

These results demonstrate the sheer class of Caol Ila, the number of 90+ being particularly high; the average score should be too but we haven't done the maths. In any case, Caol Ila is in the same league as, say Ardbeg, Lagavulin or even Port Ellen in my book. Viva Caol Ila!

(With thanks to friends, Bioris, KC, Lars...)

Check the index of all Caol Ila we've tasted so far